Man City again linked with 23 y/o who has uncertain future due to contract and debt

Manchester City may have offloaded Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal and Raheem Sterling to Chelsea this summer, but Pep Guardiola isn’t short of attacking options.

Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer can operate in a wide role, so the City manager isn’t in need of another option, but Calciomercato say City are interested in Rafael Leao.

The 23-year-old has spent three years at AC Milan after joining from LOSC Lille, making 123 appearances in all competitions, scoring 30 goals with 27 assists. Leao has two years remaining on his deal at the San Siro, but his future with the Rossoneri is uncertain.

Calciomercato say the Portuguese international is requesting €7m-a-year (£6.2m-a-year) in wages but has only been offered €6.5m-a-year (£5.8m-a-year) by Technical Director Paolo Maldini.

Leao also wants money from Milan to pay his €16.5m (£14.7m) debt to Sporting after he terminated his deal and had an unsuccessful appeal regarding the alleged contract breach.

Where City factor into this remains to be seen, as Guardiola isn’t likely to sign an attacking player in the winter transfer window or even next summer, unless an existing player leaves.

In other news, Kevin Campbell explains in depth why Jack Grealish hasn’t replicated past form

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