Newcastle still interested in Raphinha after last summer’s failed transfer

Get ready to read a thousand of names linked with Newcastle United through next summer, let alone if the lads end up clinching that desired top-4 position. The latest: Brazil international and Barcelona winger Raphinha.

According to a note published on Mundo Deportivo late Saturday, Newcastle are interested in the disgruntled forward and might attempt to land him next summer by submitting an offer to Barcelona in an attempt to snatch the South American just one year after he moved to Spain.

Newcastle were already interested in signing Raphina last season when Leeds were close to getting relegated, but the Premier League side stayed put in the English top-flight division and they could demand a much-higher fee than the Magpies were willing to pay for the Brazilian a few months ago.

Take it with a grain of salt, but Raphina claimed back then that playing for Barcelona at Camp Nou had always been his dream, which probably means nothing but it was reported to be a determining factor in Raphinha moving to Spain instead of entertaining the idea of signing with Newcastle.

The news about Newcastle interest in the player is hardly surprising given the developments of last summer and the financial struggles Barcelona is currently going through. Not to mention, if they truly want to bring Lionel Messi back to the Catalan town they better start selling some assets quickly. All of that makes sense in the context of this rumor.

Mundo Deportive suggested in the post that Barcelona “must reduce their salary budget by €200m“ while raising at least “€100m in transfer fees” if the club want to achieve “financial security” ahead of the 2023/24 season. Selling Raphinha could be a possibility, and Newcastle want to strike when the iron is hot.

Entering this weekend, Raphina has scored nine goals and nine assists in 41 appearances in all competitions throughout the season. However, Raphinha has visibly shown some frustrations when not playing and even more when he’s gotten subbed off in the middle of different games, publicly bitching about that on the pitch and going against Barcelona’s manager Xavi Hernandez.

Rapinha would seemingly demand to play on the right wing, currently inhabited by Miguel Almiron at Newcastle. That might put a hurdle in this transfer, as it’s not clear which role the Brazilian would play with Almiron strongly established as the no. 1 right-wing player on Eddie Howe’s game plans when available.