Leeds United headlines as Arsenal Raphinha bid revealed and left-back options assessed

Here are your Leeds United morning headlines for Saturday, July 16.

Arsenal’s opening offer for Raphinha - the first official bid made by any club for the Brazilian - was just £35million, according to the Athletic. The Gunners briefly took pole position in the race to sign the 25-year-old in last month, coming in with a surprise offer on June 21.

The value of the bid was unknown at the time but the Whites swiftly turned it down before accepting bids firstly from Chelsea and then from the eventual winner, Barcelona, for around £55million.

And it has now been reported that Arsenal went as low as £35million in an offer that ‘bemused’ those in charge at Elland Road.

“On the evening of June 21, Arsenal emailed an opening offer worth £35million ($41.9m).” the report said. “It fell well below the asking price and Leeds, bemused by such a valuation, rejected it the following day. Arsenal reassured Leeds they would return with another bid and a meeting was scheduled for June 28.”

Chelsea had a £60million offer accepted by that date and could offer Champions League football, forcing Mikel Arteta to back down and look elsewhere.

The left-back problem at Leeds United has once again reared it’s head, with Junior Firpo out for eight weeks following his knock against Blackpool. Leif Davis is the only specialist in Australia, and Jack Harrison’s uncomfortable performance there on Thursday reignited the ‘square peg in round hole’ concerns.

A move to bring in a new left-back has now become a priority, alongside a new striker, for Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta, as they look to strengthen a notoriously vulnerable position at Elland Road.

There have been links throughout the summer and a few recent murmurs, so LeedsLive had a look back at