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Newcastle will make a second attempt to bring Brazilian forward Raphinha to Tyneside this summer.
The Magpies tried to land the 26-year-old winger from Leeds last year before the player eventually opted for a dream £49million move to Barcelona instead.
Yet despite an impressive first campaign in Catalonia, reports in Spain suggest an early exit may be on the cards.
Barca’s financial woes continue to be well documented and the LaLiga leaders supposedly need to trim a whopping £180m from their wage bill this summer.
And Newcastle, who could take a huge step towards securing Champions League football by beating Tottenham this afternoon, are ready to test the waters with a bid for the Selecao international.
Contracted until 2027, the Toon will have to stump up a significant amount of cash but that is unlikely to be an issue for their wealthy owners.
Raphinha has nine goals and nine assists across 41 appearances this term and prior to that, racked up an impressive 29 direct goal contributions for the Whites across two Premier League campaigns.
In other news
Football Insider suggest Aston Villa are plotting an audacious double swoop for Manchester City and England stars Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips.
Manchester United and Liverpool currently lead the chase for Brighton’s World Cup-winning midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, claims Fabrizio Romano.
Reports in Portugal say that 18-year-old Benfica winger Diego Moreira has already agreed to join Chelsea at the end of the season.
