The 2021-2022 season is over. What could have been a perfect campaign for Liverpool, ended up having a bitter taste. The Reds had the chance to win four titles this season, finally winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, but in less than 10 days, they lost the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League Final.
The 2022-2023 Premier League will start on August 6, and the Jurgen Klopp-led team will once again have its mind set on fulfilling all of its objectives.Liverpool are currently one of the best teams in the world and a large part of that is due to the quality of the players they have in their squad.
However, the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League runners-up will lose one of their star players, Sadio Mane(the 30-year-old is set to join Bayern Munich), but it seems they have already found the perfect replacement.
Liverpool would already have Sadio Mane’s replacement in sight
Klopp’s preferred player to replace Mane would be Raphinha. According to The Mirror, Liverpool’s manager is a big fan of the speedy Brazilian. However, the Reds are not the only ones interested in signing the 25-year-old. Barcelonaare also after the player. According to reports, Liverpool would be in a better position to sign Raphinha as the Spanish club is in the midst of a financial crisis and cannot spend a large amount of money on the player.
In addition, as reported by The Mirror, the Reds believe including Takumi Minamino as a part of a cash-plus-player transfer offer could be a deal-breaker for Leeds. The 27-year-old Japanese international joined Liverpool in an 8,44 million eurosdeal in January 2020.
Raphinha of Leeds United / Julian Finney/Getty Images
In this context, it’s believed Klopp would be prepared to sacrifice Minamino even though Liverpool have already lost squad striker Divock Origi who has joined Serie A champions AC Milan.
Raphinha is a Leeds Unitedplayer. The team led by Jesse Marsch narrowly escaped relegation, and it is expected that next season a major restructuring of the squad will be carried out, and selling the Brazilian would provide the club with a large economic income.
Leeds officials are expected to ask for a large sum of money from the team wishing to sign the 25-year-old attacker. According to Transfermarkt, the Brazilian is worth 45,000,000 euros.
On his future, Raphinha said: “I have a contract with Leeds until 2024, so my future is in the hands of Deco and Leeds. My mind is on the national team, the upcoming matches, and my holidays. I have a contract with Leeds, and this issue will have to be discussed with my agent. When something happens, he’ll tell me”.
