Rafael Leao Returns to Training at Milanello Amid Transfer Uncertainty

Rafael Leao is back on the grass at Milanello, but his future still points towards the exit.

The Portugal international returned to training with Milan on Wednesday after a 12-day absence, yet he remains firmly on the market with just a week left of the Serie A summer window.

Back in the fold, but not at the centre

Leao has been clear for some time: he views the end of the 2025-26 season as the right moment to move on from Milan. The club, reading both the mood and the market, have spent the summer quietly – and sometimes not so quietly – trying to find a buyer.

So far, nothing has stuck.

He missed Milan’s pre-season friendly against Manchester United and sat out their Serie A opener against Torino at the weekend. While he was away, the team and the narrative moved on without him.

Head coach Ruben Amorim underlined that shift in tone when he stated publicly that “Rafa is not important”. It was a blunt line that landed with weight, especially as the fans were already busy celebrating a new hero.

Teenager Alphadjo Cisse scored his first Serie A goal in Milan’s opening league match of the 2026-27 campaign, instantly feeding the sense that a changing of the guard on the left flank is not just coming – it has already started.

Leao, once the face of Milan’s attack, now feels like a high-value asset parked on the balance sheet.

Market stalemate

The problem for Milan is simple: interest exists, but not at their price.

Leao has long spoken of a desire to test himself in the Premier League or LaLiga. Links have been plentiful, concrete offers less so. Aston Villa have been the latest English club associated with him, but the picture there is murky.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Villa have decided not to push ahead with a deal. Other outlets in Italy insist the Premier League side have not completely walked away and remain in the conversation. For now, it is noise without a breakthrough.

On another front, Galatasaray have stepped forward but not far enough. Milan want €50 million for the 27-year-old. Reports on Wednesday put the Turkish club’s current proposal at €42m including bonuses – significant money, but still shy of the Rossoneri’s line in the sand.

Until someone crosses that line, Leao stays.

One week, one big decision

So Milan train with a player they have already, in footballing terms, begun to move beyond. The coach has cooled the rhetoric around him. The supporters are falling for Cisse. The club waits for a bid that matches their valuation.

Leao, back in the sessions at Milanello, sits in the middle of it all: present in the group, but treated like a departure waiting to happen.

Seven days remain in the Serie A window. Either a club finally pays Milan’s price, or a forward who expected to be elsewhere this season must find a way to reinsert himself into a team that has started to imagine life without him.