CHELSEA have suffered a fresh transfer blow in their pursuit of Rafael Leao after reports suggested Manchester City are prepared to offer him a contract worth £200,000 per week.
Leao, 23, has been one of most sought-after stars in Europe for the last few transfer windows.
Rafael Leao will be offered a mega-money deal by Man City
And now, teams pursuing a deal for the Portugal attacker are stepping up the ante ahead of a potential move.
According to tuttomercatoweb, Leao is set to be offered a contract worth an estimated £10.6million per year by Man City.
It represents almost double the offer he has received from current club AC Milan – with the Italians said to be offering £6.2m per year.
Leao appeared in all of his nations games at the World Cup before they were knocked out.
Despite not starting a single game, he grabbed two goals off the bench to kick start his international goalscoring record.
He has been in terrific form at club level once again, scoring seven goals and adding nine assists in 20 games.
Earlier this month it had been claimed the Blues were the front-runners to sign Leao during January in an eye-watering deal of at least £86m.
However, as the mid-season transfer window draws closer it now appears City have moved into the drivers seat.
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Leao will have just one year left on his contract when the summer rolls around, and Milan are desperate to get him to sign a new deal before they are forced to make a decision on his future.
The likes of Manchester United and Arsenal have also been linked with him, with fans of the club’s involved in a hilarious Wikipedia war over him.
