Manchester United are plotting a move for Leeds United winger Raphinha as Erik ten Hag looks to bolster his attacking options ahead of next season.
What’s the word?
According to The Telegraph (via Manchester Evening News), the Red Devils are monitoring the situation surrounding the Brazil international.
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This could all depend on whether or not Leeds are relegated from the Premier League, and with the 25-year-old's market value currently sitting at £40.5m, Ten Hag might pay a lot more to secure his services for next season.
Imagine him and Ronaldo
Ten Hag faces a massive summer rebuild ahead of him at Old Trafford, and one of the priorities could well be to enhance his attacking options.
The United forwards have struggled massively this season, with only Cristiano Ronaldo scoring more than six goals (24).
Raphinha has scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season whilst also having 2.4 shots and making 1.9 key passes per match. These statistics show that the Brazilian is a major threat for a team who have struggled at the bottom end of the table for much of the campaign.
The service that the 25-year-old could provide to Ronaldo should be enough to convince Ten Hag to loosen the purse strings and go all-out to sign the Whites winger.
Perhaps the one significant obstacle to the proposed move could be the fractious relationship which has developed over the years between the two clubs. However, if Leeds are relegated to the Championship this weekend, it would surely give Manchester United a small boost in their pursuit of the winger, who will surely not want to play second-tier football with a World Cup looming in six months' time.
Noel Whelan praised Raphinha by describing him as “magic”, and the 25-year-old's ability would likely be welcomed at Old Trafford, where match-winning quality has been in short supply this season.
Ten Hag will surely be looking to make improvements to the Unites squad, and he will need to be smart in the transfer market if he aims to bring the glory days back to the red half of Manchester. Teaming up Raphinha with Ronaldo could be a good place to start.