Signed for £17m, now worth £36m: Leeds struck dream deal with £63k-p/w "magician" - opinion

Despite having a difficult season as a whole, Leeds United have once again had one player, in particular, stand head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates at Elland Road in terms of his quality on the pitch and what he has delivered for the team.

With 21 Premier League appearances under his belt in this campaign, winger Raphinha, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £63k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has scored more goals than any of his teammates, having found the back of the net on eight occasions with two assists to his name as well.

In addition to his goals and assists this season, the attacker’s overall performances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side have shown how crucial he is for the club, with WhoScored currently listing him as Leeds’ highest-rated player with a rating of 7.13.

The Yorkshire giants signed the winger back in October 2020 in a deal worth a reported fee of £17m from French club Rennes. Since then, the 25-year-old has made 53 appearances for the Whites across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists along the way.

Shortly after he made the move to Elland Road, Transfermarkt had Raphinha’s market value listed at £16.2m, whereas it now stands at £36m, highlighting the impressive rise he’s been on since taking the Premier League by storm with Leeds.

The increase in his market value in addition to his goals and assists just goes to show how much of a great bit of business it was from the Yorkshire club to bring the Brazil international, who has been described as a “magician” in the past by his fellow teammate Dan James, to England.

Moving forward, with the winger having been linked with a move away from Leeds during the previous summer transfer window after spending just