La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Chelsea are considering paying a club record fee for Milan forward Rafael Leao.
The report details how the Premier League side are big fans of the 23-year-old Portuguese forward, believing him to be the right addition to boost Thomas Tuchel’s attack following the departures of players like Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner. Milan are not interested in selling Leao, but with his contract expiring in 2024, they could be forced into a tough spot.
Chelsea may pay up to €120m in order to secure Leao in the remaining days of the transfer window, but a deal would be extremely complicated. Not only do Milan not want to sell, but the player owes Sporting CP €16.5m after a unilateral contract termination and the Rossoneri also need to give 15% of the sale to Lille due to a future resale clause.
A deal could cost around €150m in total, which was Leao’s previously active release clause. It’s hard to imagine this transfer occurring, especially this late in the summer transfer window, but Chelsea may still try regardless.