Aston Villa considers Rafael Leão after agreeing record sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea
Aston Villa are considering the possibility of signing Rafael Leão from Milan as the Birmingham club's management prepares its next moves following the agreement to sell Morgan Rogers to Chelsea. According to reports published by British and Italian media on July 19 and 20, 2026, the Portuguese winger is among the profiles Villa are assessing for the new season, but an official offer has not yet been submitted to Milan. According to the available information, talks between the clubs regarding Leão have not begun, meaning the entire deal remains at an initial stage of exploring the conditions. Milan are prepared to listen to serious proposals because they could direct significant income from a sale toward rebuilding the squad, while Leão is reportedly considering continuing his career outside Italy. The key issues will be the transfer fee, the player's personal terms and Unai Emery's assessment of whether the Portuguese international can assume one of the most important roles in Aston Villa's attack over the long term.
Rogers agreement created room for a major investment
Interest in Leão emerged immediately after Chelsea and Aston Villa, according to Sky Sports and Reuters, agreed a transfer for Morgan Rogers worth £117 million. As of July 20, 2026, the deal had not yet been officially announced as a completed transfer, and Rogers was expected to undergo a medical examination before signing a six-year contract with an option to extend it for another season. It is therefore more accurate to speak of an agreed sale than a fully completed deal, although the absence of unexpected problems should clear the way for his move to Stamford Bridge. Sky Sports states that the fee would make Rogers the most expensive British footballer and Chelsea's record signing, ahead of the amount the London club paid for Moisés Caicedo. For Aston Villa, it represents an exceptionally large return on a player signed from Middlesbrough at the beginning of 2024, even when obligations to his former club through a future-profit percentage clause are taken into account.
Rogers's departure would not only mean a financial gain but also a serious sporting loss. The England international became one of the leading figures in Emery's team during the 2025/26 season and, according to Sky Sports data, finished the club campaign with 14 goals and 11 assists in 55 appearances. He played an especially important role in winning the Europa League: in the final against Freiburg, he scored the third goal in a 3-0 victory and was involved in the move that produced Youri Tielemans's opening goal. After the final, the Premier League highlighted that the trophy ended Villa's 30-year wait for a major title and delivered the club's first European trophy since the 1982 European Cup. Rogers then also represented England at the 2026 World Cup, meaning Villa are not merely looking for a numerical replacement but for a player capable of compensating for his penetration, creativity and contribution in matches at the highest level.
Why Leão fits the profile Villa are seeking
Leão is naturally a left winger, but during his career he has also played closer to the centre-forward and in roles that allow him to enter finishing positions from a wide starting point. His most prominent qualities are acceleration in open space, carrying the ball at high speed, one-on-one play and the ability to create an advantage without an elaborate attacking build-up. Such a profile could suit Aston Villa, who under Emery often attempt to exploit space behind the opposing defence quickly after winning the ball or drawing pressure into midfield. The Portuguese player would not be a direct replica of Rogers because he is less closely associated with the role of a traditional number ten and organising play between the lines, but he would bring a greater threat from the left and the ability to change the rhythm of a match with an individual action. In a team that will once again play in the Champions League, such quality could be particularly important against opponents who leave space in transition.
A potential transfer would nevertheless require Emery to distribute roles precisely. Leão is at his best when given the freedom to attack space and when he has a full-back behind him who can provide width, while his defensive discipline and consistency without the ball are occasionally cited as areas that require a clear tactical framework. Villa have progressed in recent seasons precisely because of strictly organised lines, synchronised pressing and carefully prepared movement patterns, so the coach would have to reconcile Leão's creative freedom with the team's collective demands. On the other hand, Emery has successfully adapted his system to different types of forwards and wingers throughout his career, while winning his fifth Europa League further confirmed his ability to manage a team in knockout competitions. Villa Park could offer Leão a stable environment, an important role and consistent playing time in the Premier League and Champions League.
Milan can negotiate without pressure but are considering rebuilding the squad
Milan's negotiating position remains strong because Leão is under contract until June 30, 2028. The Italian club officially announced the extension in June 2023, stating that the Portuguese player had by then registered 162 appearances, 41 goals and 29 assists and had previously won the Serie A Player of the Season award. Since arriving from Lille in 2019, he has grown into one of the faces of the team, contributed to the 2021/22 Italian league title and gained experience in the latter stages of the Champions League. According to Milan's publication marking his 27th birthday in June 2026, he was approaching 300 appearances for the club in all competitions. The long contract means that the Rossoneri do not have to accept the first offer or sell below the amount they consider acceptable.
Despite this, Italian sources report that Milan are willing to consider offers in a range significantly lower than the previously mentioned maximum valuations. Football Italia, citing La Gazzetta dello Sport, reported that a proposal of approximately €50 million could open serious talks, while other reports mention a figure of around €60 million. The difference shows that there is currently no publicly confirmed, uniform starting price. Leão's contract reportedly contains a considerably higher release clause, but it does not necessarily represent a realistic market price in the summer 2026 transfer window. The final amount will depend on the number of interested clubs, the structure of bonuses, the payment schedule and Milan's willingness to finance other signings through the sale.
According to the same report, Milan are considering a sale to free up funds for changes in the attacking section of the squad. Italian media have particularly linked the club with young attacker Konstantinos Karetsas, but that operation has not been officially confirmed and should not be viewed as an already completed replacement for Leão. For the Rossoneri, selling one of their most valuable players would be a strategic decision: it would bring substantial capital but would simultaneously remove a footballer whose acceleration and dribbling offer a quality that is not easy to find on the market. Milan can therefore wait for the situation to develop and try to encourage competition between several buyers instead of quickly accepting the first offer.
Leão open to a new chapter, but the choice of club remains important
According to Italian reports, Leão indicated at the end of May that he was ready for a new chapter away from Milan, with the Premier League mentioned as one of his preferred destinations. Football Italia writes that he is currently not prioritising a move to Turkey or Saudi Arabia and expects an opportunity in one of Europe's five strongest leagues. Such information is still not the same as an agreement with Aston Villa. The Portuguese player will probably consider the sporting project, his role in the team, the club's ambitions, financial terms and the level of competition for a place in the starting line-up. Villa can offer him Champions League football, a team that has just won a European trophy and a coach with exceptional continental experience, but a player of his profile could also be expected to attract other major clubs.
Previous interest has been linked with several clubs from England and continental Europe, but according to the available information, no official offer satisfying Milan had been submitted by July 20. That leaves Aston Villa room to assess the situation, but also creates a risk that circumstances could change if clubs with greater commercial income or a longer tradition of regularly winning the biggest trophies enter the race. Villa have rapidly narrowed that gap in recent years. Emery's team have qualified for European competition in every season since his arrival, reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2025 and won the Europa League in 2026, showing that they are no longer merely a developing project but a club capable of winning major matches. That sporting rise could be the strongest argument in talks with Leão.
Financial strength does not mean Villa will spend without limits
Although the agreed fee for Rogers gives Aston Villa significantly greater room in the market, the entire amount will not automatically be available for a single signing. Part of the money is connected to obligations toward Middlesbrough, while the club must also plan for wages, bonuses, agents' fees and other positions in the squad. Sky Sports states that Middlesbrough are entitled to 20 percent of the profit Villa make above the previous transfer fee, which should earn Rogers's former club more than £20 million. In addition to the fee for Leão, Villa would have to account for a personal-terms package appropriate for a player who has been among Milan's biggest stars for years. The decision will therefore depend not only on whether the club can pay the requested fee, but also on an assessment of the total value of the contract over several seasons.
Aston Villa must simultaneously preserve the balance of the squad after the summer departures and arrivals. A major transfer for a winger would send a strong message about the club's ambitions, but the sporting management must assess whether part of the funds should be allocated across several positions. Rogers connected midfield and attack, created chances and arrived in finishing positions, so his contribution may not be replaceable by just one player. Leão would bring elite individual quality, but Villa could need an additional creator alongside him or an adjustment to the roles of existing players. In that context, reports also mention other wingers, including Crysencio Summerville, suggesting that the club are analysing several options in parallel and do not want to depend on one difficult deal.
What comes next in the possible transfer
The first concrete sign of progress would be an official offer from Aston Villa or direct negotiations with Milan over the structure of the transfer fee. Leão's willingness to accept the project in Birmingham would then need to be established and personal terms, including the length of the contract, salary and bonuses, would have to be agreed. Milan would subsequently need to decide whether the offer suits their rebuilding plans and whether they can find a suitable replacement in time. Because the Portuguese attacker has two seasons remaining on his contract, the Italian club can negotiate patiently and reject an amount it does not consider sufficient. Aston Villa, on the other hand, must take into account the beginning of pre-season preparations and the need for a new key player to absorb Emery's tactical demands as quickly as possible.
At this point, the interest can be described as serious consideration rather than a transfer close to completion. The agreement for Rogers has given Villa the financial capacity to consider a player of Leão's calibre, but there is still no confirmation that the club have decided to direct the largest share of the available funds toward him. Milan are open to talks but are not under pressure to sell, while Leão is interested in a new challenge but has not publicly selected his next club. The next move therefore belongs to Aston Villa: only a formal offer would show whether this is an initial exploration of the market or an attempt by the reigning Europa League winners to secure one of the most high-profile signings in their recent history.
Sources:
- Sky Sports – agreement between Chelsea and Aston Villa on the transfer of Morgan Rogers, the value of the deal, the planned medical examination and the player's statistics (link)
- Reuters / The Star – confirmation of media reports on the agreed fee and Morgan Rogers's planned contract with Chelsea (link)
- Football Italia – report based on information from La Gazzetta dello Sport about Milan's willingness to sell, the estimated fee and possible interest from Aston Villa (link)
- SportsView – report on Aston Villa's consideration of Rafael Leão and the status of the interest as of July 20, 2026 (link)
- AC Milan – official confirmation of Leão's contract until June 30, 2028, and details about his status at the club when the extension was signed (link)
- AC Milan – club review of Leão's career on the occasion of his 27th birthday in June 2026 (link)
- Premier League – report on Aston Villa's Europa League triumph, the final against Freiburg and the club's progress under Unai Emery (link)