Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch provides Raphinha transfer update and admits striker wish

Speaking after a 4-0 win, Marsch revealed that the Brazilian international had shown a good attitude upon his return to the fold.

A £65m deal with Chelsea, to be paid up front, has been agreed but Raphinha is holding out for his dream move to Barcelona. The Catalan giants are yet to match Chelsea’s offer, however, and are not expected to be able to pay it up front like the Blues could.

Amid constant transfer speculation, Raphinha was given permission to return later than his Whites team-mates but settled straight back in according to Marsch, who still considers him a Leeds player.

"It hasn’t been an easy time for him this summer, things have come and gone and there’s been a lot of little discussions,” said the American.

"Right now he’s our player, he showed up today and trained with everybody. He had such a good attitude. We had a very open and honest conversation about while he’s here he’s part of us and we’ll see what happens. There’s still a long way to go in the transfer window, I know he has hopes and dreams and we’ll see how everything goes. I said to him, I know he loves this team, this club and being here but we’ll see how things progress day by day.”

Marsch cannot yet say if Raphinha will be on the flight to the Gold Coast on Sunday, hinting that there could yet be movement before the squad departs for their pre-season tour.

"My guess is, I don’t know,” said the head coach.

"I think we just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of days. There’s urgency from his end I think to come up with a solution and then we have to see where things stand and then make that decision.”

The expectation over the past couple of weeks has been that the sale of Raphinha would be linked to the extent of Leeds’ transfer spend on their final transfer target but regardless of what happens with the Brazilian star, Marsch does want a striker.

"We are actively hunting a striker and then I feel like it’ll feel pretty close to full strength and I’ll feel good about the group,” he added.