‘No chance’ for West Ham to sign Raphinha in January – Gianluigi Longari
West Ham have made a ‘late attempt’ to sign Raphinha from Leeds this month, but have ‘no chance’ of signing him according to Gianluigi Longari.
The Hammers have made their interest in Brazilian winger Raphinha known to the Elland Road club, who would need to receive a ‘substantial offer’ to even entertain selling him this month [Toby Cudworth].
However according to Longari, who works for Sport Italia TV, there is ‘no chance’ of a deal happening this month with the player in talks for a new deal with Leeds.
Tweeting on his personal Twitter account, Longari said that rumours of interest from east London was true and said lots of clubs were interested in a move for the summer, including Chelsea.
Raphinha is currently on international duty with Brazil, and started their 1-1 draw with Ecuador on Thursday night.
Expected
It was fun while it lasted, but news that Raphinha won’t be moving to the London Stadium in the next 72 hours is hardly a big shock.
The 25-year-old has been electric this season for Leeds with eight Premier League goals and has been linked to some of the top clubs in Europe this month including Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
West Ham’s interest is a positive thing, as they’re willing to compete for the best players but they should expect disappointment in these situations more often than not.
The Hammers want to boost their attacking options before Monday’s deadline and while Raphinha was a wish upon a star, it’s seemingly over before it even started.
There’s every chance another attacker arrives at the London Stadium this month, but chances are it won’t be Raphinha.
In other West Ham news, West Ham told how to complete dramatic deadline-busting move for PL star – report