Barcelona star winger prioritising staying at club despite Arsenal rumours

Only six months into his stint as a Barcelona player, question marks are being raised over the future of Raphinha.

The 26-year-old arrived from Leeds United last summer, with the club agreeing to an operation worth €67 million, including add-ons. However, the Brazilian international has been unable to have the kind of impact expected of him so far in his stint at Camp Nou.

There was a stretch before the World Cup break when Raphinha found it hard to break into the starting XI under Xavi. While there have been some improvements, the winger has not been effective enough.

And with Barça needing to generate revenue, reports in Spain are suggesting that the Catalans would be open to offers for him this month.

Arsenal, who were interested in Raphinha during the summer, have emerged as a potential suitor for him again. Having missed out on the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk, the Gunners are looking at options in the market to reinforce their frontline.

And Raphinha’s name has once again been mentioned as a possible suitor for the Premier League leaders.

But, Fabrizio Romano (via Caught Offside) has stated that despite the interest in him, the Brazilian international would love to stay put at Barcelona as a priority.

“On Raphinha, I’m told he’d really love to stay at Barcelona as a priority – we’ll see if it changes this week,” Romano said.

Of his 23 appearances across all competitions this term, Raphinha has started only 12 and managed to score just three goals. There have been glimpses of his quality but they have not come consistently enough for him to nail down a place in Xavi’s preferred starting lineup.

With there being interest from clubs in England and Barcelona seemingly open to a sale, it remains to be seen if Raphinha’s situation changes over the next couple of weeks.