Phil Hay, on The Phil Hay Show podcast, has talked about how Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa could change Raphinha’s role and position.
Raphinha was brought to the club from Rennes on deadline day in the summer 2020 transfer window, with Daniel James arriving from Manchester United under similar circumstances in 2021.
But, the question on many Leeds fans’ lips is how will Raphinha, James and Jack Harrison all fit into the same side, especially with the two Leeds men entertaining superb attacking outputs in the recent year.
Hay, however, has had his say.
“He [James] probably starts on the bench, doesn’t he, behind Raphinha [and] behind Jack Harrison – they seem pretty well-established. But we’ll wait to see whether or not there’s any effort made to convert somebody like Raphinha into a 10,” Hay said.
“From what I can gather, that is on Bielsa’s mind, but I think it would take a heck of a lot of coaching and I think it would be a longer-term process. Raphinha doesn’t instantly look to me like a Bielsa player in that two behind Patrick Bamford.
“It always feels like a little bit closer to an 8 than it is to an out-and-out number 10, who plays solely as a 10, but perhaps it can be done, and I mean, Raphinha, his range of skills are exceptional.”
