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It\u2019s no secret that Milan are open to considering offers for their star forward Rafa Le\u00e3o. And why they are receiving offers, none of them have come close to prise him away from San Siro.<\/p>\n
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The Rossoneri<\/em> recently rejected a \u20ac35m offer from Galatasaray, while journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that the 27-year-old was recently offered to several Premier League clubs, one of them being Leeds United.<\/p>\n Milan want close to \u20ac50 million for Le\u00e3o, who in turn will want his suitors to at least match his current \u20ac7m-per-year contract, if not offer him an improved one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But amidst all of this, with pre-season drawing to a close and the new season upon us, one must ask: is it really that untenable for Le\u00e3o in Milan? Could he not stay?<\/p>\n He very much can and, in fact, that is something he may want to do.<\/p>\n Le\u00e3o was widely criticised last season for his lack of output in front of goal, the San Siro faithful having let him know in no uncertain terms how they felt about it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But Le\u00e3o was hardly the only culprit in Milan\u2019s frontline, which came apart spectacularly, and that too as a unit. From Christian Pulisic, Christopher Nkunku, to Niclas F\u00fcllkrug, no forward concluded the previous season with a save-facing individual campaign.<\/p>\n When players of similar disposition come apart in this manner, the issue is hardly individual and almost wholly institutional. And there\u2019s plenty of that going around in the red half of San Siro.<\/p>\n Milan have, simply put, not gone about starting their new era of revamped vision inspiring much confidence. There\u2019s not much there to hint at there being proper foundations for prolonged success. Nevertheless, they have the tools to make a go for it in the here and now, which is what new coach Ruben Amorim and his player will try to focus on \u2014 do what they can.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Le\u00e3o has two years remaining on his contract. It is hard to imagine that his 2026\/27 campaign would be worse than the previous one. He will have a point to prove, as does Amorim after his ill-fated time in Manchester. And in his compatriot\u2019s 3-4-2-1 setup, Le\u00e3o would fit nicely on that left-hand side role, where he could dictate proceedings with the ball at his feet as almost a wide No. 10.<\/p>\n And then, he and Amorim are hardly the only ones with a point to prove; the team let themselves down collectively with a final-day tumble down the Serie A table, and they\u2019ll want to make the most of their time in the Europa League \u2014 and that goes for the new arrivals, players who hardly played last season and will have a clean slate to stake a claim for a spot in the starting XI, as well as those who had the most opportunities to deliver for the team but failed to meet expectations.<\/p>\n After all that, if Le\u00e3o performances were to not improve, or if Amorim decided he really didn\u2019t need him after all, it wouldn\u2019t be unreasonable to say that teams from England to T\u00fcrkiye would still be open to making a deal in the region of \u20ac30\u201340 million for him both in January and next summer. Is he worth taking such a risk? Absolutely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was not too long ago that Le\u00e3o was regarded as one of the best forwards in the game. What those performances delivered, and the potential they teased, is what teams remember and will use as reference as they consider moving for him.<\/p>\n And while Milan are understandably looking to move him on, both they and Le\u00e3o can afford to give it another go and see if they can\u2019t work things out between themselves. If they really can\u2019t this season, there\u2019ll be more opportunities for that impending goodbye.<\/p>\n Anshuman Joshi | GIFN<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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