Former Liverpool forward, Stan Collymore has urged Liverpool to make a swoop for Leeds Uniteds’ Raphinha this summer.
Raphinha has been the subject of interest from many of the top clubs in the world this transfer window, including Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal, with the latter said to be leading the race for skillful winger.
Having already brought in Darwin Nunez for £85 million, it is unlikely that Liverpool would be willing to fork out the £65 million asking fee that Leeds are holding out for.
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With Mohamed Salah’s contract talks stalling, Raphinha could be seen as a potential replacement for the Egyptian next season. But Stan Collymore believes Raphinha should be signed this season to ‘apply a bit of pressure’ on star man Salah.
Speaking to the Mirror, Collymore said: “Get Raphinha and tell him to watch Salah for the next year, not only will he learn but it would also put Mo under a nice bit of pressure to make him think, ‘Am I going to stay or am I going to go?’
“Nobody is comparing Raphinha to Salah because you can’t compare anyone to Salah.”
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“But he has rapid pace, amazing skills and ability, and he can be polished to score more goals and get more assists.”
With the impact Klopp has had on his current set of players, Collymore also believes the charismatic German can have a similar impact on Raphinha.
“If you’re looking at Klopp and what he has done with Salah and Sadio Mane then he could do the same with Raphinha," He said.
“What was Mane’s tactical awareness like when he arrived at Liverpool? And you could ask the same question about Salah."
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"Yes, he scored goals with Roma and he has that outrageous pace, but he still needed polishing to become an even better goalscorer in the Premier League.”
Raphinha joined Leeds in 2020 for only £17 million in a move from Rennes and hit the ground running from the first day.
He’s been Leeds’ star man for the previous two seasons, scoring 17 goals and assisting 12 in 65 appearances for the Whites.
Recent interest in Cody Gakpo could suggest Leeds are already preparing a potential replacement for the Brazilian talisman and they would have no problem paying the £26 million pound transfer fee, should the money for Raphinha come in this summer.
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Leeds’ fans will already be heartbroken following the recent departure of Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City, and the sale of Raphinha could send Leeds’ fans into further dismay as the club's survival hopes would take a severe hit.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Raphinha, Liverpool, Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours, Arsenal