Aston Villa are in the mix to sign a Portuguese international who is playing for an Italian giant.
Aston Villa’s transfer plans are now turning towards strengthening the attacking line. After signing Johan Manzambi, Joao Gomes and, most likely, Joao Palhinha soon, as well as Pervis Estupinan, the search for an ideal replacement for Morgan Rogers has begun.
Their top target remains Crysencio Summerville, but the Netherlands international appears to be more keen on plying his trade with AS Roma. The same applies to Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho. With pre-season drawing closer, Villa need to prepare alternative targets, and AC Milan’s Rafael Leao is one of them. Their interest in him was reported by milanreports.com.
“Aston Villa’s interest therefore represents the first sign of a situation that could heat up in the coming weeks.”
The 27-year-old winger was tipped as one of Portugal’s top talents. He has played alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic and helped AC Milan win their most recent Serie A title in 2022. Unfortunately, his form has dipped lately.
Leao is still under contract with the Rossoneri until 2028. Yet, he does not appear keen on remaining in Milan until the end of his contract. In fact, he wanted to leave back in 2022. Chelsea even submitted a £85.2 million offer, but Milan rejected it.
Recently, Aston Villa have been inquiring about his situation while holding talks with the Rossoneri regarding Pervis Estupinan’s move. Leao’s price tag is said to be around £43 million.
Milan would definitely prefer to sell him rather than loan him out. Yet, the problem is that no club has submitted an official offer. The 27-year-old winger has also snubbed the chance to ply his trade in the Middle East. Villa’s only competition currently comes from the Turkish Super Lig, with Fenerbahce and Galatasaray keeping tabs on him.
The Almada-born winger still has the potential to shine, but his form has deteriorated since his failed move to Chelsea. Last season, he managed just 10 goals and three assists in 31 appearances. It was his lowest tally of direct goal contributions since the 2020/21 season.
Leao’s main issue lies in his inconsistency. Even during his best campaign, the Portuguese winger struggled to maintain his form. In the 2021/22 season, for example, he registered 11 goals and 10 assists in Serie A, but still went scoreless in five consecutive league games on two separate occasions. Meanwhile, in the 2022/23 campaign, he endured a run of eight consecutive Serie A matches without a goal.
He certainly still has the ability to shine again. At the 2026 World Cup, he still managed to score once and provide an assist for the winning goal against Croatia in the Round of 32. Emery may be able to help him rediscover his best form, just as he did with Emiliano Buendia last season, when many believed his first-team career was over.
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