Raphinha latest: Newcastle United and Chelsea ‘want to open talks immediately’ as Barca set £70m asking price

Newcastle United still have four fixtures remaining in the Premier League season and need to make sure they don’t let their grip on their current posistion slip with Liverpool now breathing down their neck.

The Magpies looked comfortable in the top four but defeat to Arsenal last weekend has seen the Merseysiders cut the gap on them in third to just three points with Manchester United also sandwiched between the two. It’s sure to be a thrilling conclusion to the campaign and it continues this weekend as they head to Elland Road to take on Leeds United - now under the charge of former Newcastle head coach Sam Allardyce.

Meanwhile, with action on the pitch the main focus for supporters, there is also plenty of transfer news going on in the background and one story that continues to dominate is the future of former Leeds man Raphinha who is being heavily rumoured to be in for a Premier League return this summer.

The Barcelona and Brazil forward, who only joined the La Liga leaders last summer for a fee of £55 million, is being touted for another move this year and St James’ Park looks like a possibility. The latest reports come from Spanish publication Sport.es and they claim that both Newcastle and Premier League rivals Chelsea ‘want to open formal negotiations imediately’ with both Barcelona and Raphinha ready to negotiate on a potential move.

The Nou Cap outfit have reportedly placed a €80 million price tag on the 26-year old (around £70 million) which would be considered a ‘significant benifit’ to them as they look to pocket a tidy profit on the fee they paid Leeds last year. The report also claims that everything could be completed before the end of the football financial year on June 30.