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David Tully Jul 20th 2026
Chelsea have made an enquiry for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, according to SportItalia reporter Gianluigi Longari.
Writing on his X account, Longari saidd that there has been “purely exploratory interest” from the Blues, but they have yet to make a formal offer.
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are said to be very keen on Leao, but the Portuguese international may need to be swayed with a big contract offer to make the move to Turkey. He was hoping to stay in one of the Big Five European leagues.
Despite declaring earlier this summer that he wanted to leave the San Siro, it is believed he will travel with the rest of Milan’s squad for the pre-season tour of Australia.
Milan have set their asking price for Leao
It has been reported that the Serie A giants would sell the 26-year-old for around €60m (£51m), but so far, no team has been willing to meet the valuation.
With Leao determined to leave Italy, and the Rossoneri seemingly desperate to sell, it would not be a complete surprise if the player is sold for a lower fee before the transfer window closes.
Do Chelsea need to sign another forward?
Fans would be right to ask whether Leao should be a top priority after the club splashed out a club record £117m on Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
There is a chance that the enquiry for the AC Milan forward was made BEFORE it became clear that Rogers would make the switch to Stamford Bridge.
Either way, you would think that the priorities of manager Xabi Alonso have now shifted to strengthening other areas.
Adding a left wingback is likely to be top of the Spaniard’s wishlist, along with a centre-back. It has been claimed that the London club are closing in on a deal for the latter.
David Tully
David Tully
David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.