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On Saturday, claims emerged in France of Leeds United being close to signing Raphinha from Rennes.

Ouest France, a newspaper local to the French club, reported the Ligue 1 side had accepted an offer from Leeds for the attacker. That consisted of a €17m flat fee and a further €6m in potential bonuses.

They went on to say that a special hearing would be held on Monday to see if the Brazilian is eligible for a work permit to play professional football in the UK.

When covering the story on Saturday, we checked to see what Raphinha’s listed passport status is. South American footballers often seek an EU passport, and Wyscout, the professional scouting platform, lists Raphinha as having an Italian passport.

Despite that, reports from France continued to question the player’s work permit status, without much worry coming from Leeds United.

French journalist @MohamedTERParis now reports Raphinha has ‘just signed’ for Leeds United and that move will be made official soon. 

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