Raphinha to Tottenham transfer bombshell sparks astonishment
Paul Hawksbee has reacted with amazement to the latest Tottenham transfer links with Barcelona forward Raphinha.
Speaking on talkSPORT (22 January, 1:08pm), Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs were left in hysterics when discussing a report which surfaced late in Barcelona’s 5-4 Champions League win over Benfica.
The report stated that Spurs – languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table – wanted to sign Raphinha, a matter of minutes before the Brazilian went on to score the winner for the Blaugrana.
Hawksbee said: “One of the in-the-knows out there chose a fantastic moment to put something out, it was about the last 10 minutes of the game.
“Says ’Tottenham are showing an interest in signing Raphinha from Barcelona’ – it’d be a tough call for him, wouldn’t it?
“‘The greatest night of his footballing life’ he’s called last night, getting the winner in the dying seconds in the Champions League.
“Or, come in for a relegation battle at Spurs in January? I wonder what he’s going to do – excellent timing everybody, well done.”
Raphinha makes Barcelona transfer position clear for Tottenham
Although he’ll have had no way of knowing Spurs’ reported interest in him during the second half of Barcelona’s topsy-turvy Champions League win, Raphinha quickly put any chance of a transfer to bed.
The 28-year-old’s form for Barcelona this season has been astounding on multiple fronts, with his brace against Benfica taking him to eight goals in the Champions League alone, and 21 in total already.
Such a record, which also includes nine assists, surely puts any talk of a January exit from Catalonia out of the question – to any club, let alone one currently mired on a horrific run of form like the Lilywhites.
Ange Postecoglou’s side sit eight points above the relegation zone and have won just once in their last 10 league games – and having kept Leeds up in 2022, Raphinha won’t want another battle at the bottom.
Spurs are in clear need of reinforcements before 3 February with several areas of the squad depleted, but a wide forward of Raphinha’s quality is surely beyond their means in this transfer window.
In other Tottenham news, one of Spurs’ transfer targets has made a decision on his future after being axed from his club’s squad.
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