Everton will need to spend at least £50million to persuade AC Milan to sell the promising Rafael Leao.
According to Calciomercato, Milan are pleased with Leao’s progress and keen to keep him at the club long term despite mounting interest from elsewhere.
The Portuguese striker, who has previously been compared to Kylian Mbappe, is on the radar of Everton, Juventus and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He made his debut for Sporting CP in February 2018, scoring his first goal for the club against Porto a few weeks later.
Leao was one of several Sporting players who terminated their contracts after being attacked by a group of fans.
As a free agent, there was plenty of interest in his services, with Lille eventually winning the race to sign him, helped by the club’s sizeable Portuguese contingent and reputation for developing young players.
Leao agreed a five-year deal with Les Dogues but lasted just a single season in France before moving to Milan for €35million in August 2019.
Over the last two years he has scored 12 goals in 54 Serie A appearances, many of them coming from the bench.
The 21-year-old has started much more regularly this season, while also having the opportunity to learn from experienced teammates like Mario Mandzukic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Rossoneri are second in the table, 11 points behind fierce rivals Inter Milan, who seem destined to win their first title for a decade.
Leao has represented his country at Under-21 level on many occasions over recent years but is yet to win a cap at senior level.
Aside from the veteran Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal have several other exciting options to choose from in forward areas, including Joao Felix, Diogo Jota, Andre Silva and Pedro Neto.
