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Manchester City could reportedly be prepared to offer Jack Grealish to AC Milan as part of a swap deal to sign Rafael Leao.
As per Italian outlet Calcio Mercato, Pep Guardiola's side are preparing a stunning swap deal to land the in-demand forward. Manchester City could be prepared to sacrifice their club-record signing to secure the signature of the much coveted Portugal international.
However, AC Milan are believed to be far from convinced by the prospect of losing Rafael Leao in exchange for Jack Grealish. As per the Calcio Mercato report, there are two reasons why Stefano Pioli's side are against the swap deal.
The first is Jack Grealish's high wage package at Manchester City, something that would be well beyond the Rossoneri's reach. The former Aston Villa skipper earns around €17 million per year at the Etihad and AC Milan are unlikely to be able to match such a salary.
The second and more significant reason is the age difference between Leao and Grealish and also their performances on the pitch. Leao is only 23 years of age right now and is still pretty much in his development phase, while Jack Grealish is 27 and should be in his prime.
While the Englishman has struggled to live up to his £100 million price tag at Manchester City, Rafael Leao has been one of the best players in Serie A. The Portugal international played a key role in Stefano Piolo's AC Milan side that won the Serie A title last season after 11 years.
The fleet-footed forward was also named Serie A 'Footballer of the Year' and Serie A 'Most Valuable Player' for his exploits. The Manchester City target has been on fire for Milan this campaign, scoring seven goals and producing nine assists in 20 games across competitions.
Kevin De Bruyne backs his Manchester City teammate to match Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's goalscoring records
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has backed Erling Haaland to equal the goalscoring records of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, the Manchester City midfielder lavished praise on the Norwegian. He said:
"Erling is so obsessed with goals. He already has about 200 goals, so he can probably go to 600, 700 or 800 if he stays fit and does the things that he does. He is a top-level striker. I don't see him as different to a lot of people. He is a normal footballer like everybody else and he doesn't take himself too seriously."
The Belgian added:
"When you talk about professional footballers, everybody has that little edge. I don't think you can become a professional player if you don't have that little something to become the best version you can be. He is still a young boy enjoying his life and he takes his football very seriously. He just loves scoring goals."
Haaland has made an immediate impact at the Etihad since his £51 million from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He has already scored 24 goals and laid out three assists in just 19 appearances for the Cityzens across competitions.
The Norwegian has already registered a staggering 180 goals and 42 assists in 224 career games till date.
