Raphinha’s agent meets with Barcelona again ahead of new Chelsea talks

Raphinha’s agent, Deco, met with Barcelona’s hierarchy for the second day running as the Spanish club attempt to hijack Chelsea’s deal for the Leeds United winger.

Chelsea have agreed a £55 million fee with Leeds for the Brazil international but have yet to reach an agreement with the player.

Barcelona, meanwhile, agreed personal terms with Raphinha in March but the club have been unable to meet Leeds’ valuation due to their current financial restrictions.

Barca are looking to boost their balance sheet by selling players, most notably Frenkie de Jong, who is the subject of a £68 million offer from Manchester United.

The club also confirmed on Thursday that they have agreed a €207.5m (£177.9m) deal to sell 10 per cent of their La Liga TV rights for the next 25 years to global investment firm Sixth Street Partners.

Raphinha’s preference is understood to be a move to Barcelona and it appears Deco is doing all he can to secure a deal as he met with the Spanish club’s hierarchy at their offices on Thursday.

<p lang=«es» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«es»>ð¥ DECO sigue en Barcelona ð¥ Cazado por @JijantesFC negociando por Raphinha #mercato pic.twitter.com/HzWEKtsMLv

It’s understood that Chelsea are due to hold further talks with Deco on Thursday in an attempt to agree personal terms with the winger.

Arsenal have also been in the running to sign Raphinha but their £40m offer was rejected by Leeds last week.

Gabriel Jesus spotted at the Emirates Stadium ahead of £45m Arsenal transfer

Juventus chief gives Chelsea major hope of completing Matthijs de Ligt transfer

Sergio Romero wants to rejoin Manchester United in shock transfer

Chelsea are hoping to sign Raphinha alongside Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling in order to boost Thomas Tuchel’s attacking