Barcelona secretly open to selling ‘magic’ Newcastle target this summer

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It appears that mixed signals are coming out of Barcelona with regards to Raphinha’s future, amid reported interest from Newcastle.

Raphinha was a target for Eddie Howe back when he was with Leeds United, with a report describing him as a ‘dream signing’ for the Newcastle manager.

However, that dream was dashed when the Brazil international joined Barcelona last summer.

One year later and he could be on the move again. It has been reported that the Magpies are keen on Raphinha heading into the summer transfer window, with speculation mounting that the Catalan giants could sell the 26-year-old after just one season.

Now Spanish outlet AS has provided an update on the situation, and have gone into detail on exactly why Barcelona might secretly be happy to get rid of Raphinha so soon after signing him.

Barcelona’s stance on selling Raphinha amid Newcastle interest

According to AS, the party line from Barcelona is that Raphinha is not for sale. However, that does not tell the full story.

The report adds that people inside the club believe that they should tell the Brazilian winger if they receive a good offer from a Premier League club. That is so they can boost their financial situation, with Barca looking to fit Gavi and Ronald Araujo into the salary limit, secure a new contract for Alejandro Balde, as well as potentially re-signing the one and only Lionel Messi.

Basically, this all appears to come down to money – like everything in football nowadays. Barca don’t want to say Raphinha is for sale and lose him for a lower price, but they would like to cash in as they feel his departure could ease their financial woes.

Then you have got Newcastle, the club that Barcelona would probably like to sell him to. They will no doubt want to benefit from the Magpies’ incredibly wealthy owners, watching on with jealously with their finances in the mud.

It is harsh on Raphinha, who has actually done really well since joining the La Liga side. The ‘magic‘ attacker has got 19 goal contributions in all competitions – yet for some reason they are thinking about getting rid.

Their loss could be Newcastle’s gain, with Eddie Howe sniffing round the South American once again.