Romano says Barcelona have now spoken to Deco about Leeds’ Raphinha

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Fabrizio Romano has confirmed on Twitter that Barcelona are amongst the clubs interested in signing Raphinha along with Liverpool, but there have been no talks with Leeds United as yet.

Raphinha looks like the player most likely to leave Elland Road this summer. It is certainly fair to say that the Whites would have been in even bigger trouble were it not for the Brazilian.

Even if some of his performances have been a little underwhelming at times, Raphinha has scored some absolutely vital goals for Leeds this term.

He looked to be back to his best on Sunday, with a performance Ray Parlour described as ‘special‘ on talkSPORT. The winger hit the bar after a brilliant one-two with Patrick Bamford. And he went on to set up the winner for Joe Gelhardt with a superb run round Tim Krul.

Obviously, that performance will not have escaped the attention of a number of European heavyweights. And Romano has now provided an update on what the future may look like for Raphinha.

The journalist suggested that Barcelona and Liverpool are both keen, while Chelsea also had their eye on Raphinha before Roman Abramovich was sanctioned. He suggested that no talks with Leeds have yet taken place with their Premier League status still in the balance…

Perfect way for Raphinha to say goodbye would be by helping keep Leeds up and netting them a big fee

Leeds fans have always known that Raphinha was likely to move on at some point. The way he has adapted to the Premier League has been frightening. And he is going to be playing in the Champions League at some stage.

Obviously, the Elland Road faithful would be delighted if he stayed. But it may be a good way for Raphinha to say goodbye if he leaves this summer after helping Jesse Marsch’s men stay up.

In the process, Leeds can surely expect a massive fee. And that should allow the club to get on with the huge task of trying to replace him in the summer.