Manchester City are the club that are the most interested in signing AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, according to Italian football expert Carlo Garganese.
Leao is in the final two years of his contract with the Rossoneri and has so far failed to reach an agreement with the Italian giants over an extension.
The electric winger, who is one of the most in-demand forwards in Europe right now, remains on the radars of top clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester United.
It is understood that Milan are wanting to agree Leao’s extension soon as they are aware that interest in the 23-year-old will only grow after the World Cup when he will be able to announce himself on the biggest stage of all.
Man City are likely to have another busy summer transfer window in 2023 and it seems as though Pep Guardiola’s side are in the mix to land the €85m-rated winger’s signature.
According to Italian football expert Carlo Garganese via GiveMeSport, Man City are ‘not the only team’ on the versatile attacker’s trail, although they remain the ‘most interested’ party.
He said: “Some other Premier League clubs as well; Man City like him, so they’re not the only team. They are the team that are most interested out of those clubs.”
In recent weeks Guardiola agreed to a new two-year contract at the Etihad Stadium, and City’s hierarchy reportedly gave assurances that they will back him in the transfer market.
Meanwhile, AC Milan’s neighbours Inter Milan are reportedly worried that City will make a move for their young centre-back Alessandro Bastoni.
According to FcInterNews (via Football Italia ), Inter are desperate to tie the 23-year-old down to terms beyond the 2024 expiry date of his current contract. That’s not because they fear an approach from Tottenham Hotspur – a club linked with the defender a lot in recent times – but because they believe City could make a move.
Although Bastoni is a quality player, there seems little chance City would try to sign him unless they offloaded at least one of their five current centre-backs first. Guardiola’s preference is to have four central defenders in his squad, but this season he has Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
All have more than proved their worth in a City shirt, so it would be interesting to see which would leave should City decide to bring in Bastoni.
