Raphinha tipped for move to Premier League elite following Leeds form

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Leeds winger Raphinha will soon be on the shopping list of some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, says Owen Hargreaves.

The Brazilian was a late addition to the Leeds squad in the summer transfer window, signing from Rennes for a reported fee of £17 million [€19.5m].

Though he has taken some time to adapt to life in the Premier League, his recent form has been sparkling for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who are now up to 10th in the table.

He has eight goal contributions to his name in the league so far this season via eight scored himself plus four assists.

Four of these goal contributions have came in his last four matches, three of which were won by Leeds.

Raphinha had another good outing on Monday night, lighting up the game against Crystal Palace with a marvellous piece of skill on Gary Cahill that soon went viral.

Following that game, Hargreaves waxed lyrical about Raphinha’s prowess, and reckons the league’s elite will be keeping a close eye on his development.

“He is a proper Brazilian; the tricks and the flair,” the former Bayern and Man Utd midfielder said on Premier League TV.

“Fans, players, managers in the Premier League that will be looking at him and thinking – there’s a ton of potential there. At 24, goals and assists, it doesn’t just look pretty – it is effective,” 

Working for Sky Sports on coverage of the Leeds versus Crystal Palace game, former Liverpool defender Jamie Redknapp likened Raphinha to some of the superstars currently at the Reds like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and tipped the Brazilian for a potential future move to Anfield.

Twenty-four-year-old Raphinha started his career with Brazilian side Avai before making his way to Europe with Vitoria Guimaraes, with spells at Sporting CP and Rennes to follow before Leeds.