‘We will make changes’ - Barcelona give verdict on former Leeds United star Raphinha

Former Leeds United forward Raphinha is being backed by his Barcelona boss despite his mixed form.

Raphinha joined Barca for around £50million in the summer, and since then, he has racked up 26 appearances across all competitions, scoring four and assisting seven. The Brazilian faces competition for a spot with an in-form Ousmane Dembelé and a favoured Gavi, among others, and exactly half of his La Liga appearances have been off the bench.

Naturally, given the fee he arrived at Camp Nou for, many around Barca have been asking questions about the winger and his participation, and transfer rumours have not helped. But Barca boss Xavi Hernandez has thrown his support behind Raphinha, claiming the former Leeds star is a key part of his plans going forward.

“Raphinha will be very important, as he was the other day when he started,” said the Barcelona boss. “We will make changes because ultimately, it’s a long season and we play every three or four days. Fortunately, we have three or four competitions to play and there will be changes and rotations, I’m sure of that.

“Raphinha is very important and I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Barca are currently three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, and they recently picked up their first trophy of the Xavi era, winning the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. They are also through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, and they will face Manchester United in the Europa League play-off stage.

As Xavi alludes to, Raphinha should still have a significant part to play given the number of games Barca have to cram in. The Blaugrana still have more than half of their La Liga games to play, and the cup games only add to their workload.