AC Milan ready to offer Rafael Leao in swap deal offer involving 26-year-old Barcelona star: Reports
AC Milan are reportedly planning to offer Rafael Leao in a swap deal to sign Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo this summer. Leao has been linked to the Catalans for the last two summer transfer windows.
Barcelona are currently hunting the market to sign a new left winger, with Luis Diaz, Marcus Rashford, and Nico Williams being reported targets. Meanwhile, they are reportedly open to letting Ronald Araujo leave despite him renewing his contract earlier this year. Meanwhile, Rafael Leao had a decent season with AC Milan, recording 12 goals and 13 assists in 50 outings across competitions. The Portuguese has been a long-time target for Barcelona, and a potential swap deal could work wonders.
According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Barca Universal), AC Milan are keen on signing Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo and are willing to offer Rafael Leao in a potential swap deal. The Uruguayan defender reportedly has an important release clause term in his current contract, which will allow his clause to be €65 million in the first 15 days of July.
The aforementioned clause in Araujo's contract has alerted multiple interested clubs, including Bayern Munich, Juventus, and AC Milan. Meanwhile, swapping Araujo for Rafael Leao could also bring in a strong attacking prospect to reinforce Barcelona's left wing.
Given the Catalans' current financial situation, it would be difficult for them to make a high-profile signing without a big departure. Araujo's importance has considerably decreased at the club as Hansi Flick now prefers a centre-back pairing of Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi. Therefore, an exit for the Uruguay international cannot be ruled out, especially with Barca desperate to bring in a new left winger this summer.
Barcelona target Nico Williams will stay at Athletic Bilbao if the Camp Nou move does not materialize: Reports
According to SPORT (h/t Barca Universal), Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams has reportedly decided to stay at his current club if he cannot join Barcelona this summer. The Spaniard, who was heavily linked to the Catalans last summer, will reject all other offers in hopes of signing for the Catalan side.
The latest reports come after Nico Williams' agent met Barca director Deco to inform him about the player's interest in joining the club. However, the Catalans are reportedly prioritizing signing Luis Diaz from Liverpool this summer. Williams is believed to be aware of the club's situation but is willing to wait and also take a salary cut to move to the Camp Nou.
Williams has a reported release clause of €62 million, which could be a huge sum for Barca to pay. However, the Spaniard could join at a much lower price than Liverpool's asking price of around €80 million for Diaz. The winger also has offers from Arsenal and Bayern Munich, but will reportedly not consider them and prioritize a move to join the Catalan side.
It remains to be seen where the Spanish prospect ends up, with Athletic Bilbao also keen on renewing his contract. The Basque outfit have reportedly offered Williams a much higher salary and a bigger release clause.