Leeds could sign new Raphinha with 9 goals and 13 assists

•  Leeds United have been scouting an exciting winger in South America.
•  His style of play marks him out as a perfect replacement for Raphinha who left for Barcelona.
•  The player’s goal and assist record throughout 2023 is seriously impressive.

The Whites’ sluggish start to the season has been forgotten as Leeds United has greatly improved their play in the Championship, with Daniel Farke’s team currently occupying third place.

The previous game, Leeds even made a dent in Enzo Maresca’s formidable Leicester City team’s incredible start to life in the second division. Georginio Rutter scored a goal off a rebound to give his team a 1-0 victory over the top-ranked Foxes, marking Maresca’s side’s only loss of the season against Farke’s squad.

The Whites have now only dropped one of their last six games, including the 4-1 demolition job at Elland Road against Huddersfield Town, who are West Yorkshire rivals. That impressive run of games featured Leeds at their peak, particularly in attack.

Championship defenders are currently unable to contain the Dutchman Crysencio Summerville, who has scored six goals in 12 games while also dishing out four assists. Joel Piroe, Dan James, and the previously mentioned Rutter round out the lethal attacking quartet for the promotion-seeking team.

Still, Leeds could be in the market for another lively attacker in the form of Jhon Arias from Fluminese if reports are correct.

Although, the second-tier giants aren’t the only club interested in the Colombian winger’s services…

Leeds transfer news

TEAMtalk are reporting that Leeds are pursuing a possible deal for the explosive 26-year-old, hoping that they might have stumbled across their next Raphinha in the process after their former beloved Brazilian winger departed for Barcelona last year.

Arias has generated interest from a whole host of clubs however, with West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Wolves and even Rangers all potentially tussling it out in January to sign the attacking midfielder.

Given that Arias has been starring for his current employers in Brazil for a number of years, it’s hardly surprising to see such a strong interest in the Fluminese man.

How Arias compares to Raphinha

Arias often plays as if the ball is glued to his feet, gracefully dribbling past a number of opponents with ease without ever losing momentum or focus.

These mind-bending runs will draw obvious comparisons to Raphinha who also made skilful darts up the field look effortless with the Whites, terrorising Premier League defences when pulling on a Leeds strip.

The Colombian’s end product is deadly for Fluminese also, justifying his impressive showboating more times than not.

He has 26 goals and 30 assists from 130 games for the Rio De Janeiro-based club, including nine goals and 13 assists just this year in all competitions.

It’s even led to Arias representing his nation as a result, capped by Colombia ten times off the back of his continued exploits in Brazil.

In terms of his overall attacking play, Arias is similar to former Leeds star Raphinha, according to FBRef. Over the past year, Arias has received 11.47 progressive passes per 90, compared to Raphinha’s slightly higher 13.54.

Both Arias and the Brazilian take great pleasure in contributing to the attacking build-up; Arias attempts 56.22 passes per 90, while his Barcelona counterpart attempts fewer, at 51.75.