Arsenal have been told to increase their offer for Raphinha after having an opening bid for the Brazil forward rejected by Leeds.
The Gunners have turned their attention to signing Raphinha and wrapping up a deal for Gabriel Jesus after completing the £34million transfer of Fabio Vieira yesterday.
Leeds value Raphinha at around £60m and have told Arsenal their initial offer falls well below their asking price for the 25-year-old, who is also attracting interest from Tottenham, Chelsea and Barcelona after impressing in his two seasons in England.
Arsenal have identified Raphinha as one of their primary transfer targets and are likely to return with a second bid as they seek to strengthen their attacking options.
Arsenal remain confident of securing a deal for Jesus and Mikel Arteta hopes the club can achieve a breakthrough in talks this week. Manchester City want £50m for the Brazil forward and his representatives have travelled to England to wrap up his transfer to Emirates Stadium.
Jesus wants to be a regular starter and is ready to leave City following their signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Raphinha is believed to favour a move to Barcelona and is thought to have already agreed personal terms with the Catalan club.
But Barcelona's financial situation complicates matters and their move has stalled because they are unable to fund a deal. The Spanish club have debts of more than £1billion and their top target remains Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.
That has opened the door for Arsenal, who will hope their signing of Vieira can help them land Raphinha because the pair are with the same agency. Both players are represented by Gestifute, which is run by super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Gestifute brokered the deal which saw Portugal Under-21 international Vieira join Arsenal from Porto. Arsenal will pay an initial £29.9m for the 22-year-old, with the rest in add-ons.
"I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent," said Arsenal manager Arteta after Vieira finalised his transfer yesterday. “Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play.”
Arsenal finished last season with one of the thinnest squads in the Premier League and Arteta has stressed the need for further fresh recruits. The Gunners have cooled their interest in Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans, however.
