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Hay says Arsenal bid for Raphinha was worth less than £40m
Phil Hay has told that he understands that the bid Arsenal made for Raphinha was worth less than £40 million, and admitted that he was baffled by the Gunners deciding to make that offer.
The race to sign Raphinha is hotting up. And it is Arsenal who have sparked the race into life by making the opening bid for the Brazilian.
Reports claimed that Mikel Arteta’s men had made the offer earlier in the week. However, it was noted that the fee was thought to fall well short of Leeds’ valuation.
The Whites reportedly want for Raphinha. But it was not clear just how much Arsenal had put on the table for the 25-year-old. Unsurprisingly, it was snubbed by the Leeds hierarchy.
Hay has now provided a little more information on the Arsenal bid. And he suggested that he cannot understand why they bothered given the fee they put on the table.
“I think if Barcelona had the money, it would be very hard for anyone else because that seems to be where he’d want to go if he was leaving. Arsenal have bid. Nobody’s really talking about the fee on this, but from what I can gather and what I understand, it was below £40 million. So therefore, it was just smacked straight back over the net and rejected pretty much straight away. And it remains to be seen if Arsenal come back for a second time,” he told .
“Why they bid at that level, I have no idea because that was never going to be accepted.”
Arsenal bid for Raphinha worth less than £40 million
Perhaps Arsenal were hoping to unsettle Raphinha with the offer. And it may well be that behind the scenes, he is excited about the prospect of moving to the Emirates.
But there would have been riots around Elland Road had Leeds accepted £40 million or less for Raphinha this summer. And while Arsenal will have their reasons, they should have surely known that they were likely to be unsuccessful.
What they have done is put Chelsea and Tottenham on alert. They know that a resolution on Raphinha’s future may not be far away.
Arsenal have handed them that warning with a low bid – and probably hardly moved any closer to signing Raphinha.