Report: Leeds rejected £40m Chelsea bid for Raphinha in January

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Leeds United rejected a £40 million bid for Raphinha from Chelsea during the January transfer window, according to a report from Mundo Deportivo.

The speculation surrounding Raphinha continues to intensify. Certainly, it would appear that Barcelona may in pole position to sign the Brazilian this summer with personal terms apparently already agreed.

Interestingly, there have been a few twists along the way. Fabrizio Romano had to clarify that his contract included no release clause if Leeds stay up after previously suggesting it did.

Meanwhile, the journalist added that Arsenal have asked for information on the 25-year-old. So perhaps there is a chance that he could yet stay in the Premier League if he leaves Leeds.

One top-flight rival he looks unlikely to join however, is Chelsea. The club are currently in the process of being taken over by new owners. And Mundo Deportivo has suggested that they are now out of the equation to sign Raphinha.

That will come as a blow to the Blues, as they made an attempt to sign him in January. In fact, Mundo Deportivo reports that Chelsea made a £40 million bid for Raphinha in January. Unsurprisingly, the offer was rejected.

Leeds simply could not afford to sell Raphinha for anything like £40m in January

It is hard to imagine it took Leeds long to respond to Chelsea’s offer. There would have been uproar had the Whites sold their ‘brilliant‘ best player in the winter window while they battle relegation.

For many, £40 million is not nearly enough for Raphinha in the summer when they will have plenty of time to work out how to move forward. So there is absolutely no way that they could have accepted that fee midway through the campaign.

And Chelsea may now be powerless to stop him heading elsewhere.