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AC Milan have never been so close to parting with Rafael Leao and it seems that he will be gone before the mercato is finished. The Leao saga has lasted a lot longer than most had expected it to. Indeed, the Portuguese expected a quick offer from Manchester United or Arsenal. Yet, neither came forward with a move for him. So, Milan have had to consider their position. Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial! After all, he isn’t a player that you can really bench for a season, even if he isn’t right for Ruben Amorim. Yet, it now seems that he’s going to be heading away and that leads to a new problem. Leao, then who? As Calciomercato.com writes, there needs to be a serious conversation about who follows Leao. He’s edging ever closer to an exit and Milan do not really have anyone to follow in his footsteps. So an investment needs to be made into the new Leao, someone for the future, but of a good enough level now. It’s a tough player to recruit, but they will have around €45m to play with. Right now, there are two frontrunners in Alvyn Sanches and Matias Soule, who both follow the archetype of player that Ruben Amorim desires. He wants a left-footed No.10, Leao isn’t that, but he can fund it. It’s increasingly likely that he goes, so now the discussion needs to be about who comes next. We’ll see.