AC Milan winger Rafael Leao is reportedly as eager as he ever has been to leave the Serie A giants amid rumours linking the superstar attacker to the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Portuguese international is ‘closer than ever’ to wanting to leave Milan having recently been dropped by Stefan Pioli amid ongoing contract negotiations between the two parities, with Leao now looking unlikely to extend his current deal.
With a release clause of €150m (£130m), Leao could be set for a blockbuster move from Italy this summer, with the news coming after a January transfer window where numerous Premier League clubs were interested in the 23-year-old, including Arsenal and Tottenham.
Journalist Dean Jones recently claimed that the former LOSC Lille star is wanted by Mikel Arteta’s side, whilst TuttoMercatoWeb have also reported that Tottenham are chasing Leao, with this latest update likely of great interest to the north London duo.
Indeed, whilst Arsenal and Tottenham both signed attackers in the January window, the opportunity to bring in a player as good as Leao will be an alluring one, especially with the winger not yet even at the peak of his footballing abilities.
Moreover, with Milan eager to recoup some sort of funds over the summer, there is a good chance that the Rossoneri could accept a lower transfer fee for Leao than the forward’s £130m release clause, something that could tempt both Arsenal and Tottenham to make moves in the coming months.
Leao looks set to leave AC Milan after latest development
Milan are in something of a mini-crisis with the reigning Serie A champions on a rotten run of form that has seen their hopes of retaining the Scudetto all-but crushed, and with Leao not even starting the last two matches, there’s a good chance that the winger will leave the San Siro in the summer.
Whilst Arsenal and Tottenham could struggle to bring the Portuguese forward to England based on the finances of such a deal, the prospect of Leao joining either side is an exciting one, and the summer window could throw up some surprises that leads to a north London giant moving in for the 23-year-old.
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