Chelsea plot mega-money move for Rafael Leao following Raphinha disappointment

Chelsea are plotting a sensational swoop for AC Milan forward Rafael Leao following their disappointment over a move for Raphinha.

The Blues have been left high and dry by the Leeds United winger, after it seemed that they had snatched a deal away from London rivals Arsenal, only to see Barcelona in turn snatch the Brazilian from Thomas Tuchel’s side, with a deal expected soon.

Raphinha situation. Leeds are still waiting for Barcelona to submit the official proposal after the verbal bid improved on Sunday night: €72m total package. It’s the final but key step. 🇧🇷 #FCB

Raphinha, optimistic – he has been pushing during the weekend. pic.twitter.com/w1tPJyPvXc

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 11, 2022

As a result, Chelsea have been forced to pivot to alternatives, and Rafael Leao is alongside Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry at the top of their list, according to the London Evening Standard.

A deal for Gnabry may prove tricky due to his former Arsenal connections, which has reportedly seen him turn down negotiations with the Blues despite only having a year left on his deal, leaving Leao as the current front-running option.

Is a deal possible?

The Portuguese winger is coming off a fantastic season, in which he grabbed 11 goals and 10 assists as he helped AC Milan to the Serie A title, so would not come cheap.

He currently has a release clause set at £127m, with his current side trying to tie him down to a new deal that would eliminate that option for departure.

However, Chelsea are thought to be keen to use Milan’s interest in Hakim Ziyech to explore a possible deal for the 23-year-old. Whether or not it would be enough to tempt the San Siro side into selling is unclear, and it would still likely take a massive bid to even bring them to the table.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	AFC Bournemouth	0	0	0
2	Arsenal FC	0	0	0
3	Aston Villa	0	0	0
4	Brentford FC	0	0	0
5	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	0	0
6	Chelsea FC	0	0	0
7	Crystal Palace	0	0	0
8	Everton FC	0	0	0
9	Fulham FC	0	0	0
10	Leeds United	0	0	0
11	Leicester City	0	0	0
12	Liverpool FC	0	0	0
13	Manchester City	0	0	0
14	Manchester United	0	0	0
15	Newcastle United	0	0	0
16	Nottingham Forest	0	0	0
17	Southampton FC	0	0	0
18	Tottenham Hotspur	0	0	0
19	West Ham United	0	0	0
20	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	0	0

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	23
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	23
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	17
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	16
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	15
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	15
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	14
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	13
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	12
Maddison, James	Leicester City	12
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Richarlison	Everton FC	11
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	11
Raphinha	Leeds United	11
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa	11

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	11
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	11
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	11
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	10
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	10
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Romeu, Oriol	Southampton FC	0	9
Rudiger, Antonio	Chelsea FC	0	9
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	11
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Maddison, James	Leicester City	9
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	9
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	7
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6