Newcastle United were reportedly offered the chance to sign AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, with Manchester City strongly linked with the attacker as well.
According to journalist Ciro Venerato, the Portuguese international was offered to numerous European clubs by the player’s agent in an attempt to gauge the interest in Leao ahead of the summer, with the forward yet to sign a new contract with Milan despite ongoing talks.
With Newcastle now one of the richest clubs in the world, the Magpies were offered the chance to sign Leao with Milan starting their bidding for the winger at £79m, though as we know, Newcastle nor any other top club took up the option to recruit the 23-year-old.
Venerato said about Leao’s future: “Leao’s agent offered him out to various top European clubs, including PSG, Newcastle, Manchester City and Manchester United. AC Milan’s starting price will be €90m (£79m), as they will not want to be caught unprepared when dealing with Leao’s potential departure.”
With Leao’s contract situation dragging on by the day, Newcastle could find themselves in the unique position of attempting to sign Leao in the summer, though as mentioned, some of Europe’s biggest clubs have also been offered the chance to bring in the Serie A superstar in the transfer window.
Indeed, with City heavily linked with Leao, the Manchester giants could be one of the favourites to sign the winger given their need for a left-sided attacker to add to Pep Guardiola’s squad, and for Newcastle, this could see the Magpies miss out on the Milan superstar.
Newcastle signing Leao might be a bit out of their league, for now
Newcastle have made incredible progress under the PIF regime that has already resulted in a Wembley cup final and a potential European finish come the end of the season. Yet despite all of this, signing Leao still feels like quite a leap for the Tyneside club this summer.
As we know, Leao is one of the best attackers in world football and good enough to play for any top side in Europe, and for Newcastle, their current reputation and standing in the game might not be enough to lure the Milan superstar to the northeast.
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