Reports: ‘Never been so close’ – Aston Villa begin Leao talks as Milan seek €50m sale

Aston Villa have made a move for Rafael Leao and talks are underway with AC Milan over a deal, reports claim.

In these final days of the transfer window, the Leao situation could be resolved after all. Gianluca Di Marzio confirms that the winger is on his way out of Milan, and in the last few hours Aston Villa have made a serious approach.

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Leao seems to be open to the idea of joining Unai Emery’s side, and the two clubs are in contact to try to reach an agreement on his transfer fee. Jorge Mendes – who put the two teams in touch – is also involved in the deal.

In the headline, Di Marzio claims that the former Lille star has ‘never been so close to leaving AC Milan’, which suggests that things are pretty concrete. Milan, for their part, have seemingly always been open to an exit.

Leao on his way for €50m?

Meanwhile, the information has been confirmed by both Fabrizio Romano and Matteo Moretto, who published an update video on the situation late last night. Their words are via MilanNews.

Romano: “Confirmation is coming in that Aston Villa have started work on the Rafa Leao deal today , an operation born from the idea of ​​Mendes, who has an excellent relationship with Aston Villa.

“This idea, however, also stems from another very strong friendship, that between Cardinale and the owner of Aston Villa, so it’s a discussion that also involves the presidents of the two clubs. This is also why Tomori’s name has emerged in recent days in the Aston Villa orbit.

“He’s not close to Aston Villa at the moment, but it has emerged because his name has also been mentioned in direct discussions between the two presidents.”

Moretto: “There has been an initial direct approach between the clubs, there is a great friendship between the two presidents. To date, there has been no real contact between Aston Villa and those managing Rafael Leao’s interests.

“Leao is indeed open to the Premier League, but no discussions have yet been held regarding a potential move to Aston Villa, so there are no Aston Villa-Leao negotiations , like there were between Galatasaray and Leao, because the Turkish club has contacted him and is willing to offer significant sums for the player.

“The problem is that there is no agreement between the two clubs, because Milan is still asking for €50m plus bonuses to get to around €60m, a figure that Aston Villa can partially meet, because in my opinion they could reach €50m including bonuses.”