Milan have ‘had enough’ convincing Leao to stay with Chelsea ‘aroused’ and ‘willing’ to pay €100m
Chelsea are reportedly ‘willing’ to splash out €100million on AC Milan winger Rafael Leao.
The Blues spent £300m on eight new players in what was an unprecedented January transfer window.
This came months after Todd Boehly backed Thomas Tuchel with a £250m budget last summer.
Boehly has showed that he is more than willing to invest in the squad since buying the club from Roman Abramovich.
Despite this, Chelsea are struggling on the pitch under Graham Potter. Defeat at home to Southampton on Saturday made it two wins from their last 14 Premier League matches.
Furthermore, the Blues are in danger of being eliminated by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League after losing the first leg 1-0 in Germany.
While Potter is struggling to win over fans, it is believed that the club’s hierarchy are confident the ex-Brighton boss is the right man to lead the team.
It would not be surprising to see Boehly hand Potter another war chest in the summer, though you do get the impression that having a settled squad would benefit the English head coach.
Saying that, the Blues could really do with a new striker, which they clearly lack, despite the amount of money that has been spent in the last year.
Such is the nature of Chelsea’s spending, there is a hell of a lot of transfer rumours circulating, and long-time target Leao is an unsurprising name being thrown into the mix.
Leao is under contract with AC Milan until 2024 and the Italian champions are extremely eager to agree fresh terms with their star player.
Milan have been negotiating with the Portuguese international for a while now and appear no closer to reaching an agreement.
This has the likes of Chelsea on red alert as the Serie A giants may feel forced to sell at the end of the season to avoid losing the player for nothing next year.
Leao reportedly has a €150m (£127m) release clause and Milan have been eager for that fee to be paid should the winger move on.
According to Fichajes, the Rossoneri are ‘not ruling out’ the sale of Leao.
The report says Chelsea are ‘one of the many teams interested’ in signing the Portuguese forward.
Milan have apparently ‘had enough’ trying to find an agreement on a new contract, thus making a summer departure ‘possible’.
Leao knows the likes of Chelsea are keen, so he has ‘paralysed’ negotiations, which has ‘aroused’ the Premier League club.
The Italian side believe €100m is the ‘minimum’ they should receive for Leao, and the Blues are ‘willing’ to put that on the table.
Leao played home and away against Chelsea in the Champions League this season.
He has nine goals and nine assists in 31 matches across all competitions for the Rossoneri.
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