Chelsea are ‘ready to include Armando Broja, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech’ as they plan to make a January swoop for AC Milan’s Rafael Leao despite Manchester City’s interest, according to reports.
The Blues are looking to add the Portuguese star to their squad in the next transfer window to give them extra firepower at the top end of the pitch.
Leao, 23, has quickly emerged as one of Europe’s top talents and has an extremely bright future ahead of him.
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The Portuguese international made the switch from France to Italy in 2019, completing a €29.5 million move to AC Milan.
Since his arrival he has taken the Serie A by storm, and last season he lifted his first title with the Rossoneri.
He was a pivotal part of their title win, picking up the Footballer of the Year award for the entire league.
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This season, Leao has been on fire, in just 11 appearances in the league he has netted five times and provided five assists.
In the Champions League he played in all six group stage matches, including the two losses to Chelsea.
The Italian giants finished second in the group to the west London side with Leao scoring once and picking up four assists.
His talent and fine form has led to a lot of interest from the biggest clubs in Europe wanting to gain his signature.
Graham Potter’s side are one of the teams that have a large amount of interest.
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Chelsea spent a club record amount in the summer transfer window under the new ownership team, but that has not put them off from splashing the cash in January.
The Blues brought in the likes of Raheem Sterling, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang over the summer, and the addition of Leao would bolster the attack significantly.
According to reports from TuttoMercatoWeb, Chelsea would happily include some of their own players due to the high price tag Leao has.
They suggest Milan would want €120 million for him, but the Blues could offer up the likes of Broja, Pulisic or Ziyech to lower the fee.
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Leao’s contract does not expire until June 2024, so if the Italian side were to sell now, they could drive the price very high.
As well as Chelsea, Manchester City also are interested in Leao.
They of course gave up Sterling to the west London side in the summer and did not find a replacement. It looks as though the Blues could have a tough fight to acquire the young talent.
Topics: Chelsea, AC Milan, Manchester City, Premier League, Football
Sam Collins