Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has confirmed that the club are in talks with Barcelona to sell star attacker Raphinha and he expects the deal to "move along in the next day or two".
The Whites are understood to have accepted Barcelona's official offer for the 25-year-old worth an initial €58m (£49.2m), which could rise to €68m (£57.7m) with add-ons.
Chelsea also had a bid accepted for the Brazil international at the end of last month, but the attacker – who has been left out of Leeds' pre-season tour of Australia – is now set to fly to Spain on Wednesday and undergo his Barca medical ahead of competing his dream move to Camp Nou.
Marsch previously revealed that there has been "urgency" from Raphinha's end to sort out his future, and the American has since stated that the player is "committed" to making the switch from West Yorkshire to Catalonia.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of Leeds' friendly with Brisbane Roar on Thursday, Marsch said: "There's been distinct movement with Barcelona and we think that things will move along in the next day or two but it's certainly not finished yet.
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"As much as it's really hard to lose Raphinha, I'll say this, if you think about a young man that was pretty much guaranteed to go on a reduced transfer fee to Barcelona if we were relegated and then you watch the performances he had to making sure the club was going to stay up, it would be hard for any 25-year-old to perform the way that he did.
"We are so thankful and I had that conversation with him. A big part for us considering to move him was the fact that he was committed, it made it easy for us to be very connected to what his goals in his life and career are.
"I'm hopeful for his sake, as much as it is hard to see him leave, I'm hopeful for him to get this deal done because I know it's his dream to play for Barcelona.
"To be honest with Kalvin (Phillips) and Raphinha, it allows us to take the next steps that we need to take in the future so that hopefully the next time we have a player like that, we can make them understand that logically the best option is to stay, because we're pushing for big goals."
Raphinha has been an invaluable asset to Leeds since joining the club from Rennes in the summer of 2020, recording 17 goals and 12 assists in 67 appearances across all competitions, including 11 Premier League strikes last season.
Oliver Thomas
