Over the past week, no player has been linked with a summer move to St James’ Park more than Barcelona’s Raphinha.
A host of Spanish outlets have reported on our alleged interest in the Brazilian, with the latest being Joaquim Piera from Diario Sport.
He claims that Raphinha has told the La Liga giants he is ‘ready to leave’, stating that Newcastle and Chelsea are both looking to bring the former Leeds star back to the Premier League.
The player himself has made his feelings known after seeing the report, insisting these are total lies. In a fiery comment on Instagram, he said: “Lying. This is lying. Whoever said this is a liar, uninformed and unprofessional. If you delete my comment, I will post this on my Instagram.”
He may well be rejecting claims that he’s asked to leave – not the ‘interest’ from Newcastle – but The Telegraph have also talked down our hopes of landing the 26-year-old, with Luke Edwards insisting we have no intention of bidding for the winger.
