AC Milan forward Rafael Leao has dealt Chelsea a huge blow after signing a new five-year deal at San Siro.
The 23-year-old had been tied down in Milan until next summer, leading to speculation he could be on the move in the upcoming transfer window.
Leao was the subject of a failed bid from the Blues last year, where the west Londoners were willing to pay £87million while also throwing in Hakim Ziyech or Christian Pulisic.
Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter fuelled rumours of a potential 2023 move after he waxed lyrical over the ex-Lille star in October.
It led his teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic to urge Leao to shun interest in him and stay in Serie A.
And Leao, who had spoken of his admiration for Arsenal, has done exactly that by extending his stay until 2024.
READ MORE ON CHELSEA
Milan announced the news on Friday, where they simply stated that are 'pleased' to 'continue their journey together'.
Any suitor now wishing to secure Leao's services will have to activate his mammoth release clause.
Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano has tweeted that his buyout clause is a whopping £150m.
He has also claimed that the winger will earn £4.3m-a-year at the San Siro, which works out to around £83,000-per-week.
Most read in Football
Since swapping France for Italy in 2019, Leao has banged in 41 goals in 162 games for the Rossoneri.
He proved instrumental in Milan winning the Scudetto last campaign, while he has chipped in with 14 goals and 15 assists this season.
Former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori - now at Milan - has warned Europe's defenders that Leao is only going to improve.
He said last month: "The scary thing about Rafa is when I came to Milan, my friends were asking me ‘Who’s the player who’s really good’ and I said, ‘You don’t really know but there is this guy called Rafa Leao he’s so good but he doesn’t understand how good he is!’
"Rafa can dribble, shoot, head, run in behind, link up well."
"Last season when we won the Scudetto and he tore up towards the end of the season and won best player, he realised, ‘Yeah, this is what I can do’. He’s our talisman.
"We look to him, you saw against Napoli when he went 70 yards, set the goal up. He’s a fantastic player and he’s only going to get better.”
ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifKe7zq2ZmqScZH51gJNpa21nk52yrb%2FEmmStqpGjwKex0WaZpaenYr%2BissCeo2aklZa8brrEsGScp56pv6Kv02g%3D