Leeds contract talks on hold for Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha
Leeds United have put new contract talks with star duo Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha on hold until the club's Premier League status is confirmed, 90min understands.
Both players were subject of £50m transfer bids from West Ham in January, which were quickly rejected by Leeds, but interest in their services continues to grow.
Phillips has long been waiting for Leeds to offer him a new and improved contract, while Raphinha has always maintained he is happy at Elland Road, and it had been hoped that the club would be in a position to negotiate new terms by now.
However, with Burnley and Everton picking up valuable points in recent weeks, Leeds are firmly in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League - and sources have told 90min that talks are now 'on the back-burner'.
Listen now to 90min's brand new podcast, Talking Transfers, with Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth. This week they discuss mounting interest in Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. There's also updates on the contract situations of Sadio Mane, Reece James, Pep Guardiola & Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Rashford's next moves and Manchester United's interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Both Phillips and Raphinha are yet to decide where their long-term futures lie, but 90min understands that they are not talking to other clubs either - despite constantly being linked with a move away.
Newcastle and Aston Villa have a strong interest in Phillips and have been repeatedly linked, while title chasing Liverpool are also keeping an eye on his situation. Manchester United are another team in the mix for the 19-cap England international, but incoming manager Erik ten Hag has a number of areas to address and must first sign off on his priority transfer targets.
25-year-old Raphinha, meanwhile, is firmly on the radar of Barcelona. The Catalan giants are enjoying a resurgence under the guidance of club legend Xavi and 90min understands they have identified the Brazilian as a summer transfer target - though they are yet to make contact for a player who is coming towards the end of his second season at Leeds and has 10 Premier League goals to his name in 2021/22.
Should a move to Camp Nou, or anywhere else, come to fruition, that could reignite Leeds' long-standing interest in Wolves winger Adama Traore - first reported by 90min back in December 2020 when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge at Elland Road - who TEAMtalk have revealed is unlikely to remain at Barcelona once his six-month loan deal comes to an end.
