Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly planning to bid for Rafael Leao, with a report revealing how much AC Milan want for the winger as another wealthy club joins the race.
Leao has been on the books of Milan since 2019 when he joined from Lille and has established himself as one of the best wingers in the world. The Portugal international has scored 67 goals and given 52 assists in 246 matches in all competitions for the Italian club and helped the Rossoneri win the Serie A title in the 2021-22 season.
The 25-year-old winger has not been at his best this season, though. Leao has found the back of the net nine times and has given seven assists in 36 appearances for Milan.
Milan have decided to sell Leao this summer, and Man Utd and Man City are ready to bid for him, according to Fichajes.
Man City are not having a great campaign and could sell Jack Grealish at the end of the season.
The defending Premier League champions will need a replacement for Grealish, and manager Pep Guardiola reportedly believes that Leao would be “the ideal player to give a new boost to the Citizens’ attack”.
Man Utd are having an even worse eason and are unlikely to even get into the European places in the Premier League table.
However, head coach Ruben Amorim is on strengthening his squad in the summer and has made a request to the Man Utd board to sign a top-level player for the left flank.
The report has added that the Man Utd board is “willing to make a substantial investment to meet the demands of the Portuguese coach”.
However, Man Utd and Man City will have to cough up a lot of cash to get a deal done with Milan.
According to Fichajes, while Milan are ready to sell Leao, the Serie A giants want €100 million (£83m / $105m) in transfer fees for the winger, who was described as “absolutely devastating” by former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher on CBS Sports in April 2023.
Fichajes is not one of the most reputable sources out there, so Man Utd and Man City’s reported interest in Leao has to be taken cautiously until and unless another more reliable news outlet backs it up.
However, one should not be surprised that Man Utd are being linked with Leao. The Red Devils were mentioned as one of the clubs interested in the winger by La Gazzetta dello Sport in April 2024.
Interestingly, there are historic links with Man City as well, with the Premier League club interested in Leao back in the summer of 2023
Interest in Leao from Barcelona and Chelsea has been well-documented, but it is not just those clubs that Man Utd and Man City have to compete with for the Milan winger.
According to Fichajes, Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal are also showing a keen interest in the 25-year-old.
With Neymar having left, the Saudi Arabian club are on the hunt for another top star to sign from Europe and believe that Leao fits the profile.
The Saudi Pro League is very wealthy, and Al-Hilal could afford the transfer fee for Leao as well as offer him a better wage package than the two Manchester clubs.
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Man Utd want to get rid of Casemiro this summer, but TEAMtalk understands that the Premier League club will not find it easy to offload the former Real Madrid midfielder.
Our transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti has told us that Casemiro is increasingly likely to stay at Man Utd until 2026 when his £350,000-per-week contract expires.
Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has urged Man Utd to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi this summer.
Cascarino wrote in The Times: “If Manchester United and INEOS are serious about the direction they are going in under Ruben Amorim, Guehi is someone they should be looking at.
“Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw’s injury problems have often left them without a natural left-sided centre-back and Guehi has already shown he can cope with the demands of that position in the Premier League.”
Meanwhile, a report in Spain has claimed that Man Utd could sack Amorim, with former Barcelona head coach Xavi among the candidates to replace him.
