da betsul： According to a report from Football Insider, Liverpool have been keeping tabs on Leeds United winger Raphinha after his arrival in English football.
da dobrowin： The Reds are finding life difficult without attacking players like Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota and are looking to pad out their attacking roster with a player of Raphinha’s calibre.
Their attention has turned to the 24-year-old who has taken to life in the Premier League expertly.
Leeds must keep hold of Raphinha
A lot of the pressure falls on Patrick Bamford when it comes to scoring Leeds’ goals, the Englishman scoring 11 goals and tallying up five assists. Behind him is winger Jack Harrison with five goals and four assists, followed by Raphinha with four goals and four assists, as per BBC Sport.
The winger’s input is highly important to the Whites, who are making it their priority to avoid facing a trip back to the Championship.
Liverpool are looking at new recruits to support superstars Mane and Mohamed Salah. Raphinha is one of their main interests ahead of the summer transfer window with the £60k-per-week wide-man featuring in all but one Premier League tie since he arrived at Elland Road, showing how vital he is to Bielsa’s set-up.
Further to this, Noel Whelan also waxed lyrical while speaking to Football Insider about the flying winger, hailing him for his quick feet and eye for goal. The former Leeds ace also hailed the Brazilian’s blistering pace on the flanks.
According to stats-based website WhoScored, Raphinha averages more shots towards goal per match and completes the highest amount of dribbles compared to attacking teammates Jack Harrison and Mateusz Klich. That’s certainly an indication of just how much intent and directness he has played with.
The Liverpool target also has the highest overall rating thanks to his impressive performances on the wing, even despite scoring fewer goals than Harrison. As a result, Victor Orta can’t afford to let the £17m summer signing leave just one year after starting his Leeds journey.
It’s exactly why the Spanish director should do everything in his power to stop Liverpool from getting their hands on him. Bielsa’s only just beginning to work with the summer signing, and it would be a real shame if he was allowed to go so soon.