Liverpool and Chelsea are fighting to sign the same striker, but the Reds could now be moving away.
Last week, Liverpool opened talks to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, the French striker who netted 22 goals and provided 12 assists in 48 appearances last season.
However, Simon Phillips now claims on Substack that Chelsea have agreed terms with the 22-year-old.
Now, Liverpool could be moving on from Hugo Ekitike as talks begin with AC Milan over Rafael Leao.
Liverpool make contact to sign Rafael Leao
Tutto Mercato Web in Italy now state that Liverpool have made an approach to sign the Portugal international.
The Italian news outlet believe contact started this morning (Tuesday 3rd June), and while AC Milan intend to keep Leao – who has been compared to Ronaldo – it is said that a bid of €130m (£110m) would bring them to the negotiating table.
🔙 @RafaeLeao7 torna al gol in campionato e lo fa ALLA LEAO! 😍#MilanAtalanta pic.twitter.com/N4e5MqfFDw
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA) February 26, 2024
Tutto Mercato Web add that Bayern Munich have also held a meeting about signing the 25-year-old, who scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists in 50 appearances last season.
Furthermore, Arsenal are keen on Leao, who was dropped for the final game of the 2024/25 campaign, a 2-0 win over Monza, remaining on the bench for the entire match.
Liverpool potentially have a way to get rid of Bayern Munich in race to sign Rafael Leao
Interestingly, Bayern Munich are keen to sign Cody Gakpo from Liverpool, a player who can operate on either the left or as a central striker, like Leao.
This link emerged before talk of the German giants wanting to sign the AC Milan No.10 – suggesting those in Bavaria prefer the Liverpool No.18 as a prospective signing.
What. A. Hit. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/KDoraIwq3R
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 30, 2024
Therefore, if Liverpool feel Leao is capable of replacing Gakpo under Arne Slot, the Reds could entertain selling him to Bayern Munich, consequently removing the Bundesliga champions as a competitor in the race to sign the AC Milan talisman.
In the meantime, Liverpool remain in talks to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen – a bid of £109m was just rejected – so the Reds clearly have lofty aspirations in the transfer market this summer.