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Ben Parker praised Leeds United star Raphinha after his recent performance in the heavy 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The Whites have entered the international break off the back of a crushing loss away to Crystal Palace and they’ve fortunately now got time to click the restart button after back-to-back defeats.

Parker did give a positive mention to Raphinha though for his display off the bench in the Palace fixture.

The 23-year-old is yet to start a match since his move to Elland Road in the summer transfer window, but made his third appearance for the Yorkshire club and manager Marcelo Bielsa used him as a half-time substitute.

He is a left-footed winger that nearly scored with a free-kick and tried to be positive when in possession.

“He started the second-half really bright. Didn’t quite get him into the areas in the final third where [he’s in a] one v one battle or he can try and produce something. As a second-half performance he did look sharp, he did look bright,” Parker said. 

TBR’s View:

Leeds fans are having to be patient to see what Raphinha can do, as the right-winger has a lot of similarities to teammate Helder Costa and it’s the latter who is in possession of the starting position right now.

But Raphinha is surely going to get his chance to start at some point in the near future, especially as the club spent £17million (BBC) to sign him in the summer.

The skilful wide player impressed last season for French top-flight club Rennes by scoring nine goals in 35 games and he’s someone that has a lot to offer after the international break.