Leeds United ‘turn down £50m approach’ from Prem rivals for winger
According to reports, Leeds United have ‘turned down an offer worth £50m’ from West Ham United for their winger Raphinha.
The Brazillian has been a standout player in the Premier League since he joined Leeds United in 2020.
The 25-year-old has contributed with 14 goals and eleven assists from his 51 appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side. He has already been involved in ten goals this term from his 20 outings.
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Clubs across Europe are said to be tracking the winger as he has been linked with Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
It was revealed on Friday that West Ham were ‘plotting’ a move for Raphinha.
90min are now reporting that Leeds United have ‘turned down an offer worth £50m’ from West Ham United for their prized asset.
This ‘verbal offer’ would have seen the Hammers pay an initial fee of £40m ‘plus an additional £10m in add-ons’. This would have been a club-record transfer for West Ham.
The report adds that this bid was ‘swiftly rejected’ by Leeds as they are keen for him to sign a new contract. His current deal expires in 2024.
Earlier this month, Alan Hutton said he thinks Raphinha will reject a new contract:
“He’s the standout performer for Leeds United at this moment in time,” Hutton said.
“He makes them tick, and everything good comes through him. The players look to him for that moment of magic.
“It really doesn’t surprise me that they’re looking to tie him down long-term, because there’ll be a number of big teams out there monitoring the situation who would love a player like Raphinha.
“I totally get why Bielsa and Leeds are trying to get him to sign on.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll have his own ambitions and want to play at the highest level. No disrespect to Leeds at all, but he will want to play in the Champions League at some point.
“He always looks happy playing for Leeds, but it’ll be interesting to see how the talks go. He could reject the contract and sign for a Champions League club.”
