Manchester United leads PSG in the race for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, per reports. The Portuguese is valued at $71M and expected to leave Italy this summer.
At the end of his contract with AC Milan in two years, Rafael Leao has a strong chance of leaving Italy at the end of the season. Two clubs stand out among his potential destinations: Manchester United and PSG.
Recruited by AC Milan from Lille for $55 million in 2019, Leao, 26, has seen it all in Italy. His departure during the next transfer window is almost no longer in doubt, the Lombardy club counting on this sale to replenish its coffers and finance part of its future transfer window.
Valued at $71 million by the specialized site Transfermarkt, the native of Almada, Portugal, is coveted by several big European clubs. According to TeamTalk, a powerhouse is in pole position: Manchester United.
Third in the Premier League, the Red Devils will return to the Champions League next season. Logically, the Manchester leadership therefore wants to strengthen with very high-level players, accustomed to European competition standards. This is the case of Leao, who is also having a decent season with AC Milan (9 goals, 3 assists). In this case, Manchester United will nevertheless have to deal with competition from Paris Saint-Germain.
Looking for at least one versatile offensive player, the capital club has been keeping a close eye on Leao for several years.
Parisian sporting director Luis Campos, who knew the Milan forward at Lille, is a big fan of the Portuguese. He dreams of convincing Luis Enrique to include him in his plans for next season. At this stage, Manchester United has a real head start over PSG, which has not yet made a concrete move to bring in the winger with 43 caps for Portugal.
Furthermore, we learn that Bayern Munich is also paying attention to the situation. But like PSG, the reigning German champion is content, for now, to be on standby in this case, before potentially pulling the trigger in the event of an (unlikely) departure of Michael Olise, Luis Diaz, or Jamal Musiala in the coming weeks.
So, a clear path seems to be appearing for Manchester United, which will, of course, show a desire to close the deal as quickly as possible, before one of the two Champions League semifinalists wakes up one morning with the desire to sign Leao.
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