Leeds United winger Raphinha is reportedly set to join Barcelona this summer, in a deal that could affect Wolves.
According to Sport, the Brazilian has sealed an agreement that should serve to give Barca the final push to open talks with Leeds. He has given his word to executives, and would commit to a five-year contract.
Barca appear to have rediscovered their mojo of late, with Xavi now starting to see yield results.
Barca have been in fine fettled over the last few weeks, and have won the last five La Liga matches in a row.
The club haven’t actually lost a game so far in 2022, and things are certainly looking up compared to the start of the season.
Barca finishing the season strongly will be very important in terms of luring quality players to the club in the summer.
It seems Raphinha could be one such player, and if that happens it could be that Barca don’t move to sign Traore permanent from Wolves.
We have been hearing over the last few weeks that Barca may not actually be able to afford to trigger the Spaniard’s £29 million asking price.
Surely, if Barcelona go ahead and do a deal for Raphinha, that will rule out Traore joining them permanently, meaning Wolves miss out on that £29 million sale.
It’s hard to see how Barca would have need for both players.
Raphinha is someone who tends to operate from the right side, just like Traore.
If they feel they can get him, they are probably going to put their eggs in that basket.
While Traore has done well since he went back to his former club, he arguably isn’t as good as the Whites star at this moment in time.
Raphinha to Barcelona harms Wolves’ chances of £29 million Traore sale
It has been feeling for a while now like Barcelona aren’t going to exercise that £29 million buy option.
If they secure a transfer for Raphinha, then it could well be curtains for Wolves. And that would be hugely frustrating since the club probably won’t get such an offer from another club this summer.
The only thing that may keep hopes alive is that Ousmane Dembele looks like he could depart as a free agent.
That would perhaps create need for another winger.
But then it depends if Barca could finance the two deals. Given Laporta’s recent comments, that feels unlikely.