Chelsea officials, led by Todd Boehly, “sat down” with Sporting Lisbon president Frederico Varandas on Tuesday last week to discuss AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, according to A BOLA.

The Portuguese club are owed €20.3m (£17.95m) in compensation by the player due to a breach of contract and the Blues wanted to better understand the situation before going ahead with a bid to “sign” the player.

It is believed that Boehly and club officials showed an “openness” to “solve the problem with Sporting” if they do end up making an official bid for Leao this summer.

The forward has expressed a desire to stay at Milan but talks over a new contract have reached an impasse because it is thought that Leao wants a higher wage so he can pay off the debt owed to Sporting.

Reports in the Italian media a couple of months ago suggested that Milan may look to sell the Portuguese international for €80m (£70.7m) at the end of the season if an agreement can’t be reached so this is a story to keep an eye on.