Liverpool FC urged to make move to sign Raphinha from Leeds United by Stan Collymore

Stan Collymore reckons Liverpool FC should consider a move to sign Raphinha from Leeds United this summer

Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp (Photo: New Balance)

Stan Collymore has urged Liverpool FC to enter the race to sign Raphinha from Leeds United this summer.

The Reds have already made three signings this summer as Jurgen Klopp looks to build a squad capable of going one step further in the Premier League title race next term.

Liverpool FC have completed deals for Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho so far this summer, with Sadio Mane, Loris Karius and Divock Origi some of the players who have departed Anfield in the off-season.

Raphinha’s future at Leeds United has been a talking point in recent weeks, with Arsenal having been linked with a move to bring him to The Emirates this summer.

FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC have also been credited with an interest in the 25-year-old Brazilian attacker as the race hots up for his signature ahead of next season.

With Mane having headed out of Anfield to join Bayern Munich and Mohamed Salah’s long-term future at Liverpool FC still up in the air, former Reds star Collymore has urged the Merseyside club to consider a move to bring Raphinha in ahead of next season.

Speaking in an interview quoted by The Daily Mirror, Collymore said: “My message to Liverpool is, ‘Go on, get in there and get him, and future proof for the prospect of Salah leaving in a year.

“If Jurgen Klopp can show the boy how to play with more tactical discipline, the Reds will have one hell of a potential threat down the left or right with a promise of goals if he stays high up the pitch rather than drifting.

“I look at Chelsea and think they are all right for that kind of player, they have good players left and right. People will say that if you can hone his talent and skills, he can give you the same ‘Wow!’ factor , or at least a similar one, to Eden Hazard, even though they’re different players.

“But I just don’t see him as an automatic pick there. With Arsenal, he would go there and carry on in the same vein as he plays at Leeds, where I don’t think he is as tactically aware as I’d like him to be, a lot of what he does is off the cuff.

“But if you’re looking at Klopp and what he has done with Salah and Sadio Mane then he could do the same with Raphinha.

“What was Mane’s tactical awareness like when he arrived at Liverpool? And you could ask the same question about Salah. Yes, he scored goals with Roma and he has that outrageous pace, but he still needed polishing to become an even better goal-scorer in the Premier League.

“With Salah in the last year of his contract — and there’s nothing for now saying he is going to stay and nothing saying he is going to go — you wonder if Klopp’s uncanny knack of working with gifted sidemen might appeal to Raphinha.”

Raphinha scored 11 goals and made three assists in 35 Premier League games for Leeds United last season as he helped them to avoid relegation.

MORE: Latest Liverpool FC news and views

MORE: Football transfer rumours and gossip

Alan Shearer (Photo: BBC Sport / Screengrab)
Alan Shearer comments on Arsenal move to sign Jorginho in January
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand predicts where Man United are going to finish
Rio Ferdinand
‘He’s a top player’: Rio Ferdinand on 22-year-old linked with Chelsea FC move
Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher predicts where Arsenal and Man City will finish this season
Gossip
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth
Sky Sports reporter delivers update on Chelsea FC search for next signing
Alan Shearer (Photo: BBC Sport / Screengrab)
Alan Shearer comments on Arsenal move to sign Jorginho in January
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand predicts where Man United are going to finish
Rio Ferdinand
‘He’s a top player’: Rio Ferdinand on 22-year-old linked with Chelsea FC move
Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher predicts where Arsenal and Man City will finish this season
Gossip
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth
Sky Sports reporter delivers update on Chelsea FC search for next signing
Slideshow
Top 50 Muslim footballers: Arsenal, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC and Man United stars feature
Top 50 Muslim footballers: Arsenal, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC and Man United stars feature