Barcelona has confirmed their interest in Leeds United Brazilian midfielder Raphinha who has seen a 55 million pound bid placed on him by Premier League side Chelsea.

Barcelona is among the top three teams confirmed in the race for the signature of the Brazilian, including North London club Arsenal and Chelsea.

Initially, at the start of the transfer window, the Gunners were said to be the frontrunners for the 25-year-old. At the same time, Barcelona was also said to have reached a personal agreement with the player without any agreement with Leeds United.

However, Chelsea overtook the two clubs as they quickly met Leeds United’s valuation of the player whose penalty in their final game last season secured their safety in the top flight.

The Blues placed a 55 million-pound bid on the player who insisted that his choice destination is Camp Nou. However, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that the La Liga club have now contacted Leeds United.

He also stated that the player has shown his interest in coming to Barcelona and that they on Thursday placed a bid for his signature.

‘We have spoken with Leeds. We know the player would also like to come to Barca, but there are also other clubs,’ Laporta said.

This development now means that Chelsea will have to wait for the outcome of Barcelona’s bid to find out if they can still bring the player to Stamford Bridge.

Furthermore, Barcelona does not mind selling Memphis Depay to fund the transfer fee of Raphinha. The club is not willing to sell Frenkie De Jong to Manchester United, but they want the player to take a pay cut while staying at the club.

Frenkie De Jong has been Manchester United’s transfer target all summer.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu