Chelsea are going to “push again” to try and sign AC Milan and Portugal international Rafael Leão as Graham Potter looks to replace the injured Armando Broja at Stamford Bridge, journalist Simon Phillips has told GiveMeSport.
The forward has been on World Cup duty with Fernando Santos’ A Seleção squad, before their quarter-final defeat at the hands of Morocco.
Chelsea transfer news – Rafael Leão
According to Corriere dello Sport in Italy (via The Sun), Chelsea are looking at making an £86m+ bid for the Milan forward in the new year, with the player refusing to sign a contract extension to his current deal, which will have just 18 months to run come January.
It has previously been reported that the Portuguese star has a £130m release clause in his current deal at the San Siro, something which technical director Paolo Maldini was holding out for during the summer transfer window.
The Blues may look to move on a deal for the 23-year-old this January after the club confirmed that striker Broja suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament rupture injury in a friendly with Aston Villa last weekend.
Transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport that Chelsea are now the ‘frontrunners’ for the 16-time Portugal international’s signature if the Serie A club are willing to sanction a departure.
And Phillips believes that the Premier League side are “sensing something can be done” and will push again to sign Leão in January.
What has Phillips said about Chelsea and Leão?
Phillips told GiveMeSport: “At the moment, he's not signing anything with Milan and it doesn't look like he's going to at this point, so Chelsea are sensing something can be done there.
“They’ve made available proposals already to Milan that have been rejected. But they're going to push again in January to try and sign Leão, especially off the back of this news with Broja.”
How did Leão perform at the World Cup?
Despite not starting a game for Santos’ side at the World Cup, Leão did his reputation no harm in Qatar, having scored two goals in five appearances at the tournament, according to Transfermarkt.
His showings in Qatar earned him an average Sofascore rating of 6.98 for the World Cup, despite averaging just 18 minutes on the pitch per game.
The same stats provider shows that the forward displayed a relatively impressive goal conversion rate of 40%, whilst he also managed to create a big chance during his time in the Middle East, despite his lack of playing time.
Whilst a January move may not be something that Milan are particularly keen to sanction, a bid of £86m+ from Chelsea may force the Serie A club’s hand in a bid to protect their transfer value, rather than letting the forward leave for a cut-price fee next summer.