Man City eye sensational £85m move as former Leeds United hero made 'top target'

Former Leeds United favourite Raphinha has been linked with a sensational Premier League return amid reports from Spain of Manchester City interest.

Raphinha is enjoying the best spell of his career at Barcelona, with 20 goals and nine assists across all competitions making him the joint-most productive player alongside Robert Lewandowski. The 28-year-old has been the go-to man for big occasions and stood out again last weekend, scoring twice as his side bet Real Madrid 5-2 to claim the Spanish Super Cup.

The Brazilian has emerged as a star under Hansi Flick and joined the club’s leadership group earlier this season, even taking the captain’s armband on multiple occasions with skipper Marc-Andre ter Stegen injured. But despite his growing status, Raphinha’s future has never been fully certain and fresh reports have now linked him with a move away.

Spanish newspaper El Nacional claim Manchester City are targeting a move for Raphinha in the summer, having identified the former Leeds man as top target. Pep Guardiola’s side have previously been linked with interest in the tricky winger and could be in the market for wide reinforcements, if the likes of Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku fail to improve.

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The report suggests City are willing to put a ‘fortune’ into signing Raphinha, with Barcelona expected to demand at least €100million (£84.5m) for their star. Ongoing financial issues at Camp Nou often mean every player has a price, with the La Liga club recently unable to re-register summer signing Dani Olmo due to restrictions placed on them by Spanish football chiefs.

The report adds that Guardiola will only sanction a serious pursuit of Raphinha on two conditions. Firstly, he wants City to get a feel of Barcelona’s stance and will not progress if they are not receptive to talks. Furthermore, the Blues boss wants to hear from the winger himself that he would be keen on returning to the Premier League.

Raphinha made no secret in the build-up to his 2022 Leeds exit that he dreamed of playing for Barcelona, and after a rocky start to life in Catalonia he is realising that dream. On current form, he could genuinely stake a claim as the best player in the world and could be in serious contention for the Ballon d’Or.

It remains to be seen whether the winger would favour a return to England, where he enjoyed two excellent individual seasons at Leeds having joined from Stade Rennais in 2020. The Whites paid just £17m for Raphinha at the time and he went on to become one of the club’s most exciting players in recent memory under Marcelo Bielsa.

Raphinha registered 17 goals and 12 assists in 65 Premier League games for Leeds, often dragging his struggling side through games single-handedly. Despite reports of a relegation release clause which would have made that ‘dream’ move to Barcelona far simpler, he continued to give his all right up until scoring the opener in his last game, a 2-1 final-day win at Brentford to ensure survival.