Rafael Leão chooses Aston Villa as Unai Emery closes in on major signing

Rafael Leão has reportedly chosen Aston Villa over Galatasaray, handing Unai Emery a major breakthrough in his pursuit of the AC Milan attacker.

The 27-year-old has been at the centre of an intense transfer battle during the closing days of the window, but reports from Portugal now claim his preference is to move to the Premier League.

Aston Villa and Milan are continuing negotiations to finalise the financial details, with the overall operation expected to come close to €50million (£43.2m).

According to Record, Leão has decided that Villa Park is his preferred destination despite receiving a significantly more lucrative proposal from Galatasaray.

The Turkish champions were reportedly prepared to pay him around €12m (£10.4m) per season.

Villa's initial salary proposal was considerably lower, but their sporting project and the opportunity to play in the Premier League appear to have won Leão over.

Aston Villa have also been working to improve their personal terms. Reports differ on the exact figure, with claims ranging from €6.5m to around €8m net per season.

The important development, however, is that Leão has now reportedly given Villa the answer they wanted.

Emery has played a significant role in convincing the Portugal international.

The Villa manager personally spoke with Leão on Thursday morning and outlined his plans for the attacker.

Crucially, Emery is understood to have told Leão that he would become a central figure in his project at Villa Park.

That conversation followed a major push from Aston Villa on Wednesday night and appears to have helped swing the situation decisively in their favour.

For a player who has publicly considered seeking a new challenge away from Milan, the prospect of becoming one of Emery's leading attacking players in the Premier League has proved attractive.

There are conflicting reports regarding the exact structure of Villa's offer.

One version has Aston Villa taking Leão on an initial loan for around €8m (£6.9m) with an obligation to buy, taking the overall operation close to Milan's €50m valuation.

Another puts Villa's proposal at €42m (£36.3m) plus €3m (£2.6m) in bonuses.

What appears clearer is that Milan are prepared to sanction Leão's departure if the financial package is satisfactory.

With the player now choosing Aston Villa, the clubs can concentrate on closing the remaining gap and finalising the structure of the transfer.

Milan manager Ruben Amorim has also done little to shut down the possibility of a departure.

“Leão is a great player,” Amorim said. “I’ve said in the past that with the right mentality he could play for any team in the world.”

However, his next comment was particularly telling.

“Sometimes in football, it’s better to go somewhere else, and we’re in the middle of that situation.”

Leão will also miss Milan's game against Venezia on Friday after only recently returning to training.

With Villa now reportedly his chosen destination, that absence comes as the two clubs work towards completing his transfer.

The priority is now reaching the final agreement between Aston Villa and AC Milan.

With Leão reportedly choosing Villa, one of the biggest obstacles has been removed. The clubs must settle the exact transfer structure and Villa need to finalise the player's contract, but Thursday's developments have pushed Emery significantly closer to landing one of his biggest signings of the summer.