We’re on the hunt for a midfielder this summer and have been linked with Benfica’s Rafa Silva, Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho, Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish. Sport believe Barcelona midfielder Rafinha is another player on the shortlist, however. He could be another arrival from the Camp Nou after Andre Gomes.
The 27-year-old is in the final year of his contract and isn’t likely to be handed a new deal, so Barcelona will have to cash in this summer to make maximum value through his sale. Sport say they’re willing to let Rafinha go for €16m or else they risk losing him for nothing next year.
We need to replace Sigurdsson
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been linked with a move away from Everton this summer as he’s a high-earner whose performances aren’t justifying the financial outlay. The 30-year-old has made 112 appearances in all competitions since joining for £45m from Swansea City, scoring 23 goals with 15 assists.
Sigurdsson contributed only five goals in 35 Premier League games last season and takes home £5.2m-a-year/£100k-a-week in wages, so why do we still have him on the books? The Icelandic international will be a hard player to shift given his dwindling stock, lofty valuation and big wages, but our interest in Rafinha suggests we’re looking to replace him.
Why are Barca looking to sell Rafinha?
He’s been out of favour for a long time. The Brazilian international has made 90 appearances in all competitions since rising through the youth ranks to Barca’s first-team in 2011/12, but he hasn’t made an appearance for 12 months and has only amassed 187 minutes of football for Barcelona since 2018.
Rafinha has been loaned out to Inter Milan (January 22, 2018 – June 30, 2018) and Celta Vigo (September 2, 2019 – July 20, 2020), so it’s clear he has no future at the Camp Nou – Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic, Arthur and Frenkie De Jong have been preferred in the engine room. Rafinha is expected to leave this summer or next.
Summary
We need to bolster our midfield after Fabian Delph’s below-par debut season, let alone because of Tom Davies’ inconsistency and Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s injury woes, but it remains to be seen if we’ll win the race for Rafinha. He has interest from other clubs this summer, so there’s still competition.
In other news, Everton have been linked with Mykola Matviyenko