are favourites to sign Raphinha if fail to submit an offer for Leeds United winger, according to reports.
The Brazil international is in high demand following two impressive seasons at Leeds and Chelsea have already seen their £55 million bid accepted.
But Raphinha’s preference is to join Barcelona and the winger has been waiting on the Spanish club to reach an agreement with Leeds.
Last week, Raphinha’s agent, Deco, .
According to the , Raphinha is set to make a decision on his future within the next 24 hours and Chelsea are ‘frontrunners’ to secure a deal if Barcelona do not follow up with an offer.
The report claims that Arsenal ‘have not given up hope’ of signing Raphinha but states that the winger has already ‘snubbed’ a move to Mikel Arteta’s side and Tottenham.
Chelsea are also set to announce their £45 million deal to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.
The England international has agreed a contract worth £300,000, which will make him the highest earner in the squad.
Chelsea are also pushing to sign two new central defenders but face the prospect of losing out to Bayern Munich in the race for Matthijs de Ligt as the Juventus centre-back prefers a move to the Bundesliga champions.
Chelsea’s new co-owner Todd Boehly is also considering a bid for Cristiano Ronaldo, with the 37-year-old pushing to leave Manchester United this summer.
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