"He wants to stay..." - Technical director claims Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea target will snub move away

AC Milan's technical director Poalo Maldini has insisted that Portugese winger Rafael Leao will stay at the Serie A side, despite interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

A whole host of clubs are said to be keeping tabs on the 23-year-old, after scoring seven goals in 16 appearances in Italy this season.

Leao also sparkled on the global stage, managing to find the back of the net twice at the Qatar World Cup, despite only being used as a substitute.

The winger also scored 11 goals last season, providing a further 11 assists to help AC Milan lift the Serie A title, and has since inherited a whopping release clause of £132million.

Leao set to extend AC Milan contract

But the Premier League triumvirate may have to back off following news that the player is in line to extend his contract, with Leao reportedly wanting to stay put.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed that contract negotiations are taking place, echoing Maldini's words in a tweet which read: "AC Milan director Maldini: “We are in talks to extend Leão contract. We will try to get it done, it seems we’re now on the same page. It seems he wants to stay”, tells Mediaset."

“We want to try to get it sealed as soon as possible, we are on it discussing with Rafa,” Romano quoted the Italian.

It will be a real blow to Arsenal fans in particular, who thought the winger might have been pushing for a move to North London. When asked to name a team that had impressed him this season, Leao responded: “I’ve seen a lot of games this year. I like Arsenal, I think they play very well.”

He was also asked if he'd like to play in the Premier League, and Leao told RDP Africa, via Metro: “Yes, in the future.

“But now I’m 100 percent focused on Milan. I’m at a top club and I’m under contract. I also like the city of Milan.”

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, seven-time Champions League winners Milan will be keen for Leao to put pen to paper as soon as possible, with a whole host of clubs waiting in the wings and ready to pounce should talks fall through.

Topics: Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, AC Milan, Football World Cup, Serie A, Premier League, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno