Rafael Leão will decide between Aston Villa and Galatasaray in the coming hours, with his Milan exit now looking imminent after he was left out of tonight's home opener against Venezia.
The saga has reached what MilanNews describe as a final crossroads. Both clubs remain in the race, but the sense is that Aston Villa have edged slightly ahead in Leão's own thinking, given that he has never hidden his wish to play in the Premier League.
On the numbers, the two suitors have converged. Galatasaray tabled €45m plus €5m in bonuses, matching Milan's asking price of around €50m overall, while Villa gradually raised their bid to approach the same figure. Milan's refusal to drop their valuation has, in the end, paid off.
Where the offers diverge is on wages. Villa put forward a salary of around €7.5m net per season, below what the Turkish side are willing to pay. That leaves Leão weighing a very high salary in Istanbul against the league he has long wanted to test himself in.
Matteo Moretto and Fabrizio Romano addressed the situation in a YouTube video last night. "We are living in Rafael Leão's hours," Romano said. "Because while yesterday was a day of frenetic contacts for the basis of an agreement with Galatasaray, on the club side, now the game is being played in Leão's court.
"It's Rafa's time, he has to figure out what he wants to do with his career, whether to proceed by signing with Galatasaray for a very high salary or whether he will prefer the Premier League. The ball is completely in Rafael Leão's court. It will be a day of meetings with his entourage, his family."
Moretto added: "There will be contact between Leão's entourage, Aston Villa, and Galatasaray. So we'll see how it all plays out in the next few hours, meaning a conclusion will be reached between today and tomorrow."
The break also looks settled on a sporting level. Ruben Amorim has said Leão isn't ready to be called up and suggested that a change of scenery might, at times, be the best solution for a player.
His Milan career now risks closing after 291 appearances and 80 goals, a leading role in the Scudetto win, a Champions League semi-final and an Italian Super Cup. From here, the decision sits with Leão and his entourage: Birmingham or Istanbul.