AC Milan technical director Paolo Maldini has revealed that the Serie A champions are now confident of keeping Rafael Leao.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all been linked with the Portuguese international, who has less than eighteen months left on his contract, but Maldini says he is hopeful that the player will sign an extension:

“We are in talks to extend Leao’s contract. We will try to get it done, it seems we’re now on the same page. It seems he wants to stay. We want to try to get it sealed as soon as possible, we are on it discussing with Rafa.”

Leao does have a €150m (£133m) release clause, but due to his contract situation, it has been reported that Milan may have to sell him for just £60m if he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal.

The 23-year-old has been in excellent form this season, having scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 23 appearances.

One of the main stumbling blocks in Milan’s attempts to keep Leao, though, is an outstanding €20m (£18m) payment that the player owes to his former team Sporting Lisbon. He is keen to get a substantial wage rise in order to pay off the debt but it seems he may now have decided to stay with Milan, rather than seek a bigger pay packet elsewhere.