How Leeds United asset Raphinha is making a mockery of £17m price tag and adding different dimension to Whites attack

It is a somewhat perverse way to gauge the success of a footballer, calculating the cash that would flood into their club were they sold, particularly when no one in their right mind would want him to leave, but there’s little doubt that Victor Orta could make a tidy profit from the Brazilian winger this month were Leeds to suddenly encounter cashflow issues or lose their minds.

Every club has players who take a long time to settle or underwhelming signings – the sad and ongoing saga of Jean-Kevin Augustin is a cautionary tale for the ages – but Raphinha already counts as another undeniable tick in Orta’s win column.

He cost just £1m more than the man he has displaced on the right wing this season but his early form is giving Helder Costa, another left-footed wide player Marcelo Bielsa values, little chance of regaining his spot.

His obvious quality on the ball aside, Raphinha is bringing something different to the Leeds team from the right flank berth that Costa made his own in the Championship winning season.

Where Costa’s 2019/20 heat map showed a touchline-hugging habit, giving Leeds width and stretching the opposition to open up space inside, Raphinha is a wanderer.

But while his wandering is not scripted, as Scott Parker might say, nor is it random.

And his role is not free. Along with the exciting stuff like running at defences and curling shots into top corners, Raphinha is tracking back to defend, trying to press with intensity and making lots of good, sensible decisions in possession.

An example of that we saw at the Hawthorns and several times against Spurs in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat, was when he would pick up the ball around halfway with his back to goal, drawing players towards him before firing a pass across the middle to his centre-half. Pascal Struijk received the ball six times from his winger on Saturday and was able to shift the focus of the Whites’ attack left.

On another occasion, in a more advanced position, Raphinha took a calculated risk with a first-time hooked cross-field ball that Patrick Bamford flicked on for Jack Harrison who had space to create what became Leeds’ first attack and a real chance for Gjanni Alioski.

By the time the left-back had shaped to shoot an effort that went into the side netting, Raphinha had appeared completely free on the penalty spot.

That run was replicated a number of times and has become a feature of the Leeds attack this season.

When the ball goes left, Raphinha leaves his line and, often, his marker to join Bamford as a second forward and an additional presence in the area. And he’s not just darting to the back post, but cutting to the middle, like he did in the ninth minute as Harrison crossed the ball in.

His mobility and pace allowed him to pop up suddenly, between the two centre-halves and in a great position to score, had the cross not been a whisker too high.

There are signs of relationships building on the pitch – he and right-back Stuart Dallas linked up with greater frequency than any other combination for either side and Raphinha’s quick one-touch link up play with fellow new arrival Rodrigo is going to cause teams more problems the longer they share the pitch together.

There is still, of course, some adapting to be done.

Luke Ayling was in his ear after looking up, under pressure in the Leeds area and seeing his winger too far upfield to hit with a pass.

The new boy learned quickly, however, because when Dallas was in a similar situation in the second half, Raphinha quickly dropped deeper to make himself an outlet, receive the ball and relieve the pressure.

There was good stuff – a run that swayed Eric Dier to his left and opened up Bamford’s shooting lane, an outside of the boot scoop into Mateusz Klich, dangerous crosses, corners and a run that left Matt Doherty for dead before he drew a save from Hugo Lloris.

There was not so good stuff too – dribbling into trouble on the edge of the Leeds box and an errant flick that he just about got away with in his own area.

At West Brom, Ayling turned the air blue reminding his winger to ‘do it properly’ after he tried but failed with a fancy trick. At Spurs, Raphinha had a few choice words when team-mates failed to find his runs.

He’s fitting right in at Leeds, as an asset.