Newcastle United ‘insist’ on deal for former Leeds United star despite Bundesliga interest

Newcastle United are ready to revive their interest in Barcelona winger Raphinha - according to reports in Spain.

The Brazil international has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive first season with the Catalan giants in a £55m deal from Leeds United last summer and went on to score 10 goals and provide 12 assists to help his new side claim their first La Liga title in four years.

However, there have been consistent reports throughout the last year suggesting several clubs were keen to hand the 26-year-old an opportunity to return to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Chelsea both said to retain an interest despite his big money move to the Camp Nou.

Raphinha actually hit out at speculation he had agreeding to a move away from Barcelona in a reply to an Instagram post last month, saying: “Fake news. Whoever said this is lying. This is lying. Whoever said this is a liar, misinformed and unprofessional. If my comment gets deleted I’ll post on my instagram.”

Despite that denial there is now further speculation in Spain stating Champions League-bound Newcastle are ‘convinced’ the winger will leave the La Liga champions over the coming months due to the ongoing financial concerns at the club. Spanish outlet Sport have claimed the Magpies and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are ‘probing’ the signing of Raphinha and have suggested Newcastle are ‘in a position to pay a figure that would leave an interesting benefit for the salary limit’ at Barcelona.

Intriguingly, the report also states Newcastle have already made an approach for Raphinha but were asked for time as Barcelona considered the sale of the likes of Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Frank Kessie ahead of any departure for the former Leeds star.