Manchester United could hand Bruno Fernandes his dream signing by ending Raphinha’s Barcelona woes. Reports in Spain suggest that the La Liga giants are prepared to sell the winger in January just six months after they paid £55million to sign the 26-year-old from Leeds.
Barca are once again seeking to offload valuable fringe players to ease their financial problems. Raphinha falls under that category, having started just seven Spanish top-flight games this season.
The former Rennes man has already admitted that he is unhappy at the club. In November, he revealed that he had told head coach Xavi Hernandez that he felt uncomfortable playing on the left wing as opposed to his preferred role on the right.
Manchester City and Chelsea are apparently interested in signing the Brazil international. The latter were beaten to his services in the summer by Barca.
Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes loved playing with Raphinha at Sporting Lisbon (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
That is according to Spanish publication Todofijaches, who report that Raphinha could be sold to fund deals for either of Man City pair Bernardo Silva or Joao Cancelo. However, United could also be interested after being linked with Raphinha in the summer.
And the move would please attacking midfielder Fernandes, who has expressed an interest in reuniting with his former Sporting Lisbon colleague. Asked by The Athletic which former team-mate he would love to have alongside him in the United team, the Portuguese said: “So many. Raphinha, who is now at Barcelona, would be one.
“The chemistry between me and him was really good. I didn’t play with him for a long time at Sporting, but I felt he was a team-mate who would give everything for me.”
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Former Leeds man Raphinha has struggled at Barcelona (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
Raphinha appears to be unhappy at Barca and could be tempted by a premature January exit. He has scored just two top-flight goals, and the club’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League presented a further major disappointment.
Earlier this season, the ex-Leeds man told Spanish journalists that he held talks with Xavi over his position. He has generally been used on the left of the attack, but prefers to play on the right.
“Yes, I told Xavi. I think he got it. I want to help the team as much as possible. I told him that I wasn’t helping the team on the left,” he said.
“I don’t mind competing with Ousmane on the right. I like that competition, but I would like to complete in my place, where I feel more comfortable at the moment.”