Leeds United winger Raphinha has already doubled his worth through his impressive performances this season, according to Noel Whelan.
Raphinha joined Leeds in October on a four-year contract from French club Rennes for an initial fee of around £17million.
The 24-year-old has hit the ground running for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, recording four goals and four assists in his first 16 Premier League matches.
His contribution has been vital recently, with the Brazilian scoring and assisting in the 2-1 win over Newcastle, laying on a goal in the 3-1 win over Leicester and netting in the 2-1 defeat by Everton.
Raphinha has also bought into Bielsa’s demanding pressing game, making him one of the most important players to Leeds on their first season back in the top-flight for 16 years.
Former Leeds striker Whelan believes he has more than merited the transfer fee, which came as part of the club’s £100m summer investment.
“He’s incredible, he really is – I mean we weren’t sure what we were getting when we bought him, we’d seen clips on YouTube etcetera but didn’t know a great deal about him,” he told Football Insider.
“At £17m, I think you can probably double that now with the way he’s come in and made an impact on the team and the way he’s going about his business.
“He’s bought into everything that Marcelo Bielsa wants in a player, which is not just that flair on the field but that hard work and ethic that he brings as well, with the amount of trackbacks we’ve seen.”
Having scored two goals and made two assists in his last three league games, Raphinha will surely start Leeds’ home game against Crystal Palace on Monday.
Leeds suffered a chastening 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against the Eagles back in November, so will be aiming to learn from their mistakes this time out.
Raphinha is far from the only Leeds player enjoying impressive form at the moment, with Patrick Bamford contributing three assists and one goal in his last two matches.
The Whites striker has scored 11 goals in 21 Premier League matches so far and will fancy his chances against one of the clubs he spent a fruitless loan spell with earlier in his career.
