Arsenal have made no secret of their admiration for Barcelona winger Raphinha, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs has told GiveMeSport.
Mikel Arteta’s side have already missed out on the services of Mykhaylo Mudryk at the Emirates Stadium at the expense of London rivals Chelsea, as the Gunners look for more attacking options this month.
According to Sport, Arsenal are pursuing a move for Raphinha, as we head towards the closing stages of the transfer window after Arteta’s insistence that the club look at bringing the 26-year-old to the Emirates Stadium.
The same report says that the north London outfit have been in contact with the Brazilian star’s representatives, even though the Premier League side have already secured the signature of former Brighton & Hove Albion and Belgium winger Leandro Trossard this month.
Respected journalist Pete O’Rourke has recently told GiveMeSport that the club’s sporting director Edu is a big fan of the Barcelona winger, suggesting that a move could still possibly be on the cards.
And Jacobs has said that whilst Arsenal are big admirers of Raphinha, it’s unlikely that they will pay above the odds to secure his signature in January.
Jacobs told GiveMeSport: “The admiration from Arsenal for Raphinha is absolutely no secret. They wanted him during the summer, they were the first of three clubs to make a bid to Leeds United before Chelsea and Barcelona. They never really wanted to go above about €50m [almost £44m].
“The final price for Raphinha that Barcelona and Chelsea agreed on was at least €15m, if not closer to €20m above that valuation.
“So, we’re seeing a pattern here with Mudryk, Lisandro Martínez, Dušan Vlahović and Raphinha, where Arsenal have a set valuation.”
