Aston Villa have an edge over Galatasaray in the race to sign AC Milan’s Rafael Leão late in this window.
On Thursday, we relayed news the Turkish club are offering €45m plus €5m bonuses to meet Milan’s €50m price. The Villans have made an improved bid of an €8m loan fee plus a €42m purchase obligation.
Later that day, Sport Witness covered a report from Portugal explaining that the player has chosen Aston Villa over Galatasaray.
Unai Emery key for Aston Villa advances
Sport Mediaset picks up on that and states the forward is ‘close to joining’ the Premier League side.
The Istanbul club are offering him €12m per year while Aston Villa haven’t come close to matching it.
Despite this, the Portugal international is close to the Europa League winners because of Unai Emery. He made several calls to Rafael Leão to explain his project and the key role he will have in it.
Emery ‘provided the technical guarantees requested’ by the attacker, and this has been ‘decisive’ for his side. Negotiations are ongoing with AC Milan for an agreement.
Aston Villa change plan
Sport Mediaset states the English club have made a new offer of loan [€8m fee] with an obligation to buy set at €45m.
However, Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Luca Bianchin and MilanLive.it share a different take on the transfer formula.
Bianchin took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to state the Premier League side want to sign the 27-year-old on a permanent transfer. The Villans have offered him €7.5m per year salary and are awaiting his final decision. The player should decide on Friday.
MilanLive.it states the Villa Park club have an advantage over Galatasaray after expressing their willingness to change the formula.
Instead of a loan move, they now want to buy him. The task is to reach the €50m price set by Milan through fixed fee and bonuses.
The former Sporting man has always maintained the desire to play in England. This has helped Aston Villa to make advances, especially after Emery made several calls yesterday to explain his project and plans.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray haven’t met his request, likely about an improved salary, so far.
The outlet states: ‘Aston Villa, after an initial retreat, at this point strategic, under pressure from Emery, broke the deadlock and decided to forcefully enter the fray, playing all their cards against both Milan and Leão’.
Friday will be key for this operation, mainly for the player’s final decision. Everything now points to Villa Park as his next destination.
Galatasaray e Aston Villa oggi hanno parlato con Rafa Leao. Contatto diretto con Unai Emery.
L’Aston Villa apre all’acquisto a titolo definitivo ma offre solo 7,5 milioni a stagione, lontano dai 12 del Galatasaray.
Decisione in mano a Rafa, si andrà quasi sicuramente a domani. pic.twitter.com/2mEklTdVD5
— luca bianchin (@lucabianchin7) August 27, 2026
