Aston Villa have made another financial push for Rafael Leão, with the forward continuing to prioritise a move to Villa Park.
Friday brings an important update from Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio. He says the Villans have increased their salary offer to €7.5m (£6.5m) per season.
That comes with Leão still putting Aston Villa ahead of Galatasaray when considering his next club.
Aston Villa make new Leão offer
Di Marzio describes the coming hours as decisive for the Portugal international. Aston Villa’s improved €7.5m (£6.5m) proposal is their latest attempt to reach a definitive agreement with him.
The wording from Italy is worth noting. Reports from Portugal on Thursday went further and had Leão choosing Aston Villa. Di Marzio now says the 27-year-old continues to give the Premier League club “priority”.
That suggests Villa remain in pole position, although there’s still something to sort out before they can consider the player fully secured. A final agreement must also be reached with AC Milan.
Galatasaray waiting for their chance
Galatasaray haven’t disappeared from the picture either. Di Marzio says the Turkish club remain in the background and are ready to overtake Aston Villa until Leão communicates his definitive decision.
The Turkish side have been willing to go considerably higher on wages, with figures of around €12m (£10.4m) per season reported this week. Villa’s new €7.5m (£6.5m) proposal remains well below that.
They don’t appear to be trying to beat Galatasaray euro for euro. Leão’s desire to move to England is giving them room to find a package which works for both sides.
Still, Villa’s latest move on his salary is very important to the saga. They already have the player’s preference. Their task now is turning that into the agreement which would remove Galatasaray’s remaining hope.
After plenty of movement on Thursday, Friday follows with Aston Villa still leading the race and putting more money on the table to keep it that way.
