LIVERPOOL have stolen a march on Manchester United in the race to sign Raphinha, reports say.
The Reds are in pole position to land the Brazilian winger after his impressive debut season at Leeds.
According to the Express, Liverpool are ahead of their rivals Man Utd and Manchester City in the race.
But the report also states that Leeds have no intention of letting the 24-year-old go.
He scored seven goals and had 11 assists last season having arrived from Rennes for £17million.
Man Utd and Liverpool have been interested in his signature all year.
Raphinha formed a good partnership with Man Utd creative genius Bruno Fernandes when they were at Sporting Lisbon.
And Red Devils midfielder Fred said earlier this year: “Bruno’s been talking about Raphinha ever since he arrived. They played together at Sporting.
“He’s a great player having an amazing season and a lot of clubs have their eye on him.
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“I met him recently, great guy, excellent player but… I hope he won’t be lining up against us!
“I wish him a quick recovery and a lot of success in his career. He’s a stand-out star player for Leeds so, of course, it’s better for us if he’s not on the pitch.
“If he does play, we’ll look to mark him carefully and work on our game-plan as best as possible. We’ll try to nullify his threat to come out on top in this game.”
