“It’s a different responsibility” – Gus Poyet explains what could change for Raphinha at Chelsea if he joins from Leeds
Chelsea legend Gustavo Poyet has said he is intrigued to see if Raphinha can "step up" if he arrives at Stamford Bridge from Leeds United.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Blues have reached an agreement with Leeds worth £60 million for the Brazilian, although Barcelona are trying their best to hijack the deal.
#Raphinha
Excl: Barcelona contacted Leeds yesterday night to submit new bid for Raphinha, following talks with Deco. Barça verbal proposal does not fulfill Leeds request, yet. 🚨🇧🇷 #Raphinha
Leeds insist on respecting the agreement with Chelsea for £60m.
It’s still open on player side. https://t.co/DqhGbWfmiV
Since his arrival in English football two years ago, Raphinha has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League outside of the top six and his 11 goals in 35 league appearances played a huge part in Jesse Marsch's side staying in the top flight last season after a relegation scare.
Speaking to Lord Ping, Poyet stated that while the Brazilian winger is a very good player, he would be playing in a much different role from his time at Leeds if he moved to west London.
The former Uruguayan midfielder stated:
"Raphinha is a very good player. We need to see if he can step up at a different club because he was the star man at Leeds and now he's going to be one of many great players at Chelsea - it's a different responsibility."
This Raphinha transfer is mad! Moving like he's Neymar. I mean he's decent but he ain't as good as this transfer saga is playing out
Poyet discusses Chelsea's aim for next season
The Blues suffered a turbulent season in their most recent campaign as they lost both domestic cup finals and faced very public ownership issues.
While the takeover by American tycoon Todd Boehly has finally been approved, the two-time European champions are yet to make a signing this summer despite losing the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku.
Thomas Tuchel's side finished a mammoth 18 points behind the league's top two last term, and Poyet believes that while his old side should be competing for the title, they are a long way short of being competitive on that front. He claimed:
"If Chelsea bring the right players in then that can be the aim, but with the current squad, no. People need to listen to me and use common sense - if you sign a £100m striker, you have to aim to win the Premier League - if you don't believe that then you know nothing about football. Right now, there's still a big gap between Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City."
I'd like to know why if Chelsea spent £50m on Ben Chilwell they shouldn't spend similar on Nathan Ake? Would arrive with more pedigree. Newcastle paid 35 for Botman who has never played in PL and has never played a senior game for Holland. 40-50 seems the going rate for Ake to me