According to journalist Gianluigi Longari, Liverpool lead the race to sign Leeds United winger Raphinha.

What's the latest transfer news involving Raphinha? 

Liverpool are among a number of Premier League clubs interested in signing Leeds attacker Raphinha, according to Longari.

The journalist claims that despite Liverpool leading the race for his signature, the deal is complicated because Leeds are keen to retain the 24-year-old.

Journalist update on Leeds star Raphinha

Which other clubs want to sign Raphinha?

Longari confirmed that Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are all in the mix to sign the Brazilian and are monitoring his situation at Elland Road.

Raphinha signed for Leeds last summer for a fee in the region of £17m from French outfit Rennes. He has proved to be a hit in the Premier League and his performances have evidently caught the eye of England's top clubs.

The winger commented on reports linking him to United and Liverpool last month, telling UOL Sport as per The Mirror, "It is difficult to define how I feel when I hear speculation about giant teams like Liverpool and Manchester United interested in signing me. Man, I grew up watching these teams on television."

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How has Raphinha performed in the Premier League this season?

Raphinha's playmaking qualities have shone for Leeds this season and in some areas he has even exceeded the statistics of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

WhoScored figures show that Raphinha made a total of 64 key passes in the Premier League this term, which is more than any Liverpool forward. Mane and Salah made 61 and 57 respectively and both trailed the Brazilian for assists.

In 26 starts for Leeds, the 24-year-old netted on six occasions and he ranked joint sixth in the division for assists with nine.

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Where would he fit in at Liverpool? 

Liverpool already have a plethora of attacking talents including the famous front three of Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino. With the addition of Diogo Jota who hit the ground running last season with nine league goals in 19 appearances, it is difficult to see where the Leeds winger would fit in.

If he were to join Jurgen Klopp's side he would probably feature predominantly from the bench. However as Jota proved at times this season, if the Brazilian performs well in cameo appearances he could disrupt Liverpool's regular front three.

Longari claimed that Man United are interested in the 24-year-old and this would be a better fit than Liverpool due to the lack of natural right wingers at the club. However according to various reports, United are progressing in talks to sign Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho.