Chelsea FC are on the brink of completing a £55m deal to sign Raphinha from Leeds United ahead of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, according to a report in England.

The Guardian is reporting that the south west London side are closing in on a £55m deal to recruit the Leeds playmaker in what would be a significant coup seeing as Raphinha was attracting a lot of interest in the Premier League and in Europe.

The same article states that Arsenal were initially thought to be at the front of the queue to sign Raphinha despite FC Barcelona also being involved in the battle for the Brazil international’s signature ahead of the 2022-23 season.

According to the same story, Raphinha’s first choice was FC Barcelona but the Spanish giants struggled to meet Leeds’ valuation of the South American midfielder.

The report goes on to reveal that Chelsea FC met the West Yorkshire club’s asking price to move ahead of Arsenal in the transfer battle for Raphinha’s signature but the Gunners could return with a new and improved bid for the Leeds star.

The Guardian fail to rule out a potential “twist” in the Raphinha saga so there’s still a slim possibility that Arsenal could beat Chelsea FC to the Brazilian despite the Blues sitting in a strong position at this point in time.

Raphinha has scored 11 times and has made three assists in 35 games in the Premier League last term to help the West Yorkshire side narrowly avoid relegation.

He has scored three goals in nine games for Brazil since making his senior international debut last year.

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