Chelsea defender Thiago Silva praised his compatriot Raphinha after the Leeds attacker’s eye-catching performances for the Brazil national team.
Raphina has adapted well to Premier League football since joining Leeds United back in October 2020. Scoring six goals and providing nine assists made him one of the best performers on Marcelo Bielsa’s side, and call up to the national side has seemingly come a bit late than expected.
He was pencilled in to make his Brazil debut last month, but the rules surrounding Covid and the conflict between Premier League clubs and the Brazilian FA resulted in him not taking part. Tite retained his name for the current international round and he has played two games, with another on the horizon on Thursday.
His display against Venezuela after coming off the bench caught the eye in particular. Raphina provided two assists after coming on and created the chance from which they won a penalty for later. Captain Thiago Silva was amazed by the Leeds star’s performance and believes he has a long future ahead.
Since the end of last season, many clubs have shown an interest in taking Raphina away from Leeds. Liverpool were seemingly interested in the summer, and now Barcelona are also monitoring his situation. Sooner rather than later, the explosive attacker could likely move grounds, but he is flourishing at Leeds and with Brazil for now.
Chelsea star Silva was full of praise for Rahinha after his performances against Venezuela and then Colombia, stating he has not seen such a display in many years. Sport Witness posted some of Silva’s comments about Raphinha via UOL as he tipped the attacker for a bright future ahead.
Silva said, “If we had managed to win, we would be talking more about them. The boys showed quality; in these more than ten years with the Brazilian national team, I’ve hardly seen this level of performance.”
“It’s really cool to see Raphinha and Antony showing personality. In terms of chemistry, they’re lacking a little, but the individual play is at a high level. That’s what the man [manager Tite] wants, what the man asks for.”
Raphinha could be in the Selecao lineup on Thursday to face Uruguay, and many good things are expected from the attacker. After that, he returns to England as Leeds resumes their Premier League campaign as they travel to face Southampton, as the Brazilian hopes to help end their dismal run in the league.
