Leeds manager, Jesse Marsch, has given reasons why Raphinha was insistent on joining Barcelona ahead of other clubs.

The Brazilian was also chased by Premier League clubs Arsenal and Chelsea.

Chelsea had a £60 million bid accepted by Leeds for Raphinha, however, he stalled on agreeing on personal terms with the Blues, instead holding out for Barca to up their offer.

Leeds has now agreed on a deal in principle with the Spanish giants on an initial £49m fee, which could rise to £55m with add-ons.

“There’s been distinct movement with Barcelona and we think that things will move along in the next day or two, but it’s certainly not finished yet,” Marsch said while on Leeds’ tour of Australia.

“As much as it’s really hard to lose Raphinha I’ll say this. If you think about a young man that was pretty much guaranteed to go on a reduced transfer fee to Barcelona if we were relegated, and then you watch the performances he had to make sure the club was going to stay up, it would be hard for any 25-year-old to do that.

“I’m hopeful for him to get this deal done because I know it’s his dream to play for Barcelona.”

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