If anyone thought that after signing Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, Manchester City were going to take a step aside in the transfer window, then they were wrong. Pep Guardiola's team will seek to win the UEFA Champions League once and for all in the 2022-2023 season.

The Citizens finished as Premier League champions, although the season ended with a bittersweet taste after losing to Real Madrid in the 2021-2022 UCL semifinal. To have a great team it is necessary to have great players and Manchester City have them, but they can also lose several of them. 

Haaland arrived at the club to be a starter, and Alvarez is also believed that will have a place in Guardiola's team. This led to Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, and Riyad Mahrez deciding to be transferred in this transfer window. Manchester City already have a candidate to replace them.

Manchester City willing to pay €150M for Serie A player

The Mail Online claims Sterling wants his future to be resolved before he begins preseason training. The 27-year-old player is open to leaving City because he wants more game time and is wanted by Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.

Jesus is in the same situation as his teammate. His future seems to be at Arsenal, which according to reports, would be willing to pay the money Manchester City officials are asking for. While Mahrez's future is uncertain. The 31-year-old has been a regular last season, but his contract runs until 2023, and neither side has shown any desire to renew it.

For these reasons, according to Footballfancast, Manchester City are considering signing Rafael Leao. The Portuguese forward has won the 2021-2022 Serie A title with AC Milan and was named the best player of the tournament. The 23-year-old scored 11 goals and provided 10 assists in 34 games played last season.

The player's great season has made major European teams want to sign him. That made Paolo Maldini define him as a diamond and that the club set him a release clause of 150,000,000 euros, and Manchester City would reportedly be willing to pay it to sign the player.