Newcastle ready to jump at the chance of signing Barcelona star

Newcastle ready to jump at the chance of signing Barcelona star

TRANSFERS Newcastle ready to jump at the chance of signing Barcelona star

Stephen Oladehinde 18:05 - 25.03.2023

The Barcelona star has been attracting interest from Premier League teams having just left Leeds United last summer.

According to reports, the financially troubled Barcelona may be forced to sell the Raphinha in the summer. Even if Leeds avoids being relegated this season, Elland Road won't be the next destination for the 26-year-old winger. The player will prefer to join a team playing in Europe, and Leeds won't be able to afford his salary or potential fee.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Raphinha’s possible destination

Newcastle United will be hoping they can capitalise on their strong season this year and can attract the winger to Saint James Park. Eddie Howe led them to a League Cup final in the team's first full season under the new owners and are pushing for more success.

With Newcastle presently in fifth place in the table, just two points behind fourth-place Tottenham, and two games in hand, he also believes they can finish in the top four.

Raphinha would be a great acquisition for Newcastle, which wants to assemble a potent team that can routinely contend for a spot in the top four as well as for hardware.

Raphinha's career

The Brazilian spent two years at Leeds scoring 17 goals and assisting 12 in 67 appearances. He was Leed's best player in the 2021/ 2022 season before he earned himself a move to LaLiga giants in the summer.

Raphinha has made an instant impact there as well scoring 9 and assisting 9 in 38 apps, becoming a key player in the team. His impact has also placed his team at the top of the LaLiga table and on the verge of winning the league.

With interest from Premier League clubs, it is yet to be seen if Barcelona will be forced to sell their star player due to their financial crisis.