Barcelona refuse to give deadline for Raphinha deal, Chelsea pushing player for answer

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of two new players today, with Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen’s transfers on Bosman deals being announced.

And, according to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs, Barça’s next priority will be to close the deals for Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski and Leeds United winger Raphinha.

With Lewandowski, Barcelona have made multiple bids for his signing, but Bayern Munich are reluctant to accept the offer submitted. As for Raphinha, the situation is much more complicated due to the involvement of Chelsea in the picture.

And Jacobs has provided a detailed update on the entire picture concerning the Brazilian winger, Barcelona and Chelsea.

Recent reports claimed that the Blaugrana had reached an agreement with Leeds United over a €60 million deal, but that might not be the case as things stand.

As per Ben Jacobs, Barcelona will hold fresh talks with Leeds United this week for the transfer of Raphinha, although club president Joan Laporta is refusing to give a deadline by which they intend to complete the deal.

The Whites, though, feel that this week will be crucial, especially with Chelsea pressuring Raphinha to make a decision soon. The Blues have had an agreement with Leeds over a €75 million transfer, but the move has been held up due to the player’s wishes to join Barça.

While the 25-year-old continues to wait for the Blaugrana, Chelsea are ready to ramp up the pressure on the former Rennes ace to make a decision at the earliest possible.

The Premier League giants’ plan always has been to price Barcelona out of a transfer before pressing hard on the player to decide quickly and close the deal in a swift manner, as they are aware that Raphinha harbours dreams of playing at Camp Nou.

However, Jacobs adds that if the saga continues to drag on with no resolution in sight, Chelsea could look to end their interest in Raphinha and move on to other targets.

So, the waiting game might end up working for Barcelona, especially since Raphinha is also prepared to wait as long as it takes to secure his dream move to Camp Nou.