Manchester United target and Portugal forward Rafael Leao could end up signing a new contract at AC Milan, says transfer reporter Dean Jones.

The 23-year-old is thought to be on the Red Devils' shortlist, but Jones says the noise coming out of Italy right now suggests a San Siro exit is far from a certainty.

GiveMeSport Transfer Update With Dean Jones

Man United transfer news - Rafael Leao

Jones told GIVEMESPORT back in October that he thought it was "highly unlikely" that Leao would join United.

Nevertheless, it looks like the Portugal international is a target for the Manchester club, with ESPN reporting that they are exploring the possibility of signing him in January.

If Milan cannot get Leao to put pen to paper on a new deal and do decide to sell him, he will not come cheap, however.

According to Calciomercato, the Italian giants will not consider offers of less than €100m (around £86m) for the former Lille man.

What has Dean Jones said about Rafael Leao and Man United?

Amid the Leao and United links, Jones has told GMS that the player extending his contract at Milan is definitely not off the table.

Discussing the Red Devils' interest in him, the journalist said: "In terms of Leao, there's been encouragement from people in Milan that he might actually end up signing a new contract now, so it's all quite uncertain."

Read more: January Transfer Window 2023: When Does It Begin, Rumours and Everything You Need To Know

Should Rafael Leao have started for Portugal in the World Cup group stage?

Yes. And given his talent, it is extremely surprising that he was not named in Portugal's first XI for any of their three group stage games, as shown on Transfermarkt.

Still, Leao was able to grab a goal, coming off the bench to score in the 3-2 win against Ghana, while Fernando Santos' men still qualified for the knockout round in the end.

You get the feeling, though, that they could have performed even better during that part of the tournament had Leao got more minutes.

As per FBref, the ex-Sporting Lisbon player has ranked in the 94th percentile for dribbles completed among attacking midfielders and wingers over the last year. It is no wonder Italian football expert Carlo Garganese has described him as "terrifying". Ultimately, that kind of threat could have taken Portugal to another level.

It is also not a shock that United want to sign the forward, especially after Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Old Trafford. A lot clearly needs to happen, however, if he is to end up joining Erik ten Hag's side.

For weekly updates on all the news around the World Cup, sign up to our newsletter.