Manchester City set to move for €150m 'new Thierry Henry', who confirms his future needs 'resolving': report
Manchester City are rumoured to be chasing 'the new Thierry Henry' – and his future is still up in the air
Manchester City are on alert after a target compared to Thierry Henry confirmed that his future is yet to be resolved.
Pep Guardiola is believed to want another wide forward in the summer, after reshaping his team to rely on the likes of Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva on the flanks. After moving away from wide-men in the mould of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus last summer, Manchester City brought in two natural No.9s in Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.
But rumours persist that City could yet sign a new attacker for the flanks, as Guardiola evolves his team further. Rafael Leao has been mentioned on a number of occasions.
Now, Leao – who starred for AC Milan in midweek against Napoli with a stunning assist for Olivier Giroud – has confirmed that although he wants to remain at the San Siro, his future is yet to be set in stone.
"I want to stay here at Milan, yes – but there are some things to resolve," he told Sky Sport Italia. "I’m still under contract for one more year, we’re in talks.
"What matters most now is that we're in the semi-finals, it's a great season and I want to continue helping the team."
With a release clause of €150 million looking less secure as his contract expiry of 2024 looms, the superstar attacker could be a big target for the likes of City, Arsenal and Manchester United this summer, as the Rossoneri look to tie him down for longer.
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A left-winger capable of playing centrally the Portuguese has been compared to Thierry Henry for his build and dribbling style in the past.
Leao is valued at €80m by Transfermarkt.
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Ilkay Gundogan is rumoured to be a major target for Barcelona this summer, while Guardiola has explained why major City stars are being subbed early. One Burnley star has told FFT that Vincent Kompany could manage the Citizens one day.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.