Chelsea to 'go back on the attack' for in-form winger in January after failing with '€70m verbal offer'

Chelsea are reportedly planning to 'restart the assault' for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao in January after failing to sign him in the summer.

The Portuguese international signed for AC Milan in 2019 from Ligue 1 side Lille. Around 35 million euros were spent to bring Leao to Serie A.

Leao enjoyed a stellar season in 2021/22 helping AC Milan win the Serie A title. He registered 14 goals and 12 assists in all competitions.

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The 23-year-old has also hit the ground running this season as he has been involved in nine goals in just eight outings.

Chelsea were interested in Leao during the summer but they ended up missing out on the winger.

Fabrizio Romano revealed after the window closed that the Blues 'made a verbal offer' to sign Leao, but AC Milan were not interested in letting him go.

Understandable given that Leao has a €150m release clause in his current contract which expires in 2024:

Romano said: "AC Milan have insisted that Leao is not for sale. The Portuguese striker has a €150m release clause and Milan do not want to sell Leao unless until this figure is reached.

"Chelsea wanted to bring Leao in during the summer transfer window, but unless they paid the 150 million euros, it was never possible for Chelsea to sign the striker.

“Chelsea never made a formal offer, but they made a verbal offer of around €70m plus surcharges.

"However, AC Milan were unwilling to sell Leao at this price, around half of his contract's €150m release clause."

Paolo Maldini is the Italian club's technical director and he recently encouraged Leao to sign a contract extension:

"We already started talking about it for some time with Leao, [Ismael] Bennacer and [Pierre] Kalulu," Maldini said.

"Is Leao the most complicated? Each renewal can be more complicated or easier. The will of the players goes a long way.

"Rafa knows that to become stronger than now, the solution is to stay with us. We are a young and growing team.

"He still has to learn a lot of things, if he reaches a higher level in Milan I think it's also normal to take flight. But we intend to do great things and grow with him .”

But Chelsea are set to test AC Milan's resolve again in January. Il Milanista (via Sport Witness) reports that the Blues are 'serious' about signing Leao.

They don't say when Chelsea will try again, but TuttoMercatoWeb says that