Raphinha: Leeds United Star Asks to Skip Preseason Tour As Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona Close In on Signing

• Raphinha is set to miss Leeds United's tour of Australia, with the star player keen on finding a solution to his transfer conundrum
• Barcelona and Chelsea are heavily interested in Raphinha, with the former being the preference of the 25-year-old
• The Spanish giants are, however, unable to finance the transfer at the moment and will have to wait until they can release some players or reach some other sort of agreement

Leeds United winger Raphinha has asked the club to omit him from the preseason tour as he seeks to finalise his move away.

Raphinha has been subject to intense transfer speculations, with all pointers indicating he will play for a different club next season.

The Brazilian has attracted interest from Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona. Arsenal are understood to have fallen down the pecking order after failing to match Chelsea's 60 million euros bid.

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While Leeds have already accepted Chelsea's offer, the player is holding for a move to Barcelona. The only drawback is that the Catalans are cash-strapped and have to put their house in order before they can finance the move.

The Daily Mail reports that Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has confirmed that Raphinha might have to sit out of their Australia tour.

We had a very open and honest conversation about while he's here, he's part of us, and then we'll see what happens. It's still a long way to go in the transfer window. I know he has hopes and dreams. I know he loves this team and this club and he loves being here. We'll see how things progress day by day.

Raphinha is the key player for the Elland Road tenants, having scored 11 goals and provided three assists to help Leeds escape relegation.

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Arsenal now target Marco Asensio after missing out on Raphinha

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Marco Asensio is now ready to take a pay cut to move away from Real Madrid this summer.

Asensio wants to move elsewhere, where he will have significant playing time as he hopes to make it to Luis Enrique's World Cup squad.

He was been used sparingly by Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti last season, with Rodrygo Goes and Federico Valverde preferred instead.