Manchester City are overstocked with forwards (Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva) and could afford to sell Ferran Torres to Barcelona in January without replacing him, so it’s strange Calciomercato are linking them with Rafael Leao.
The report says AC Milan could listen to offers of €70m (£58.7m) for the 22-year-old who has scored 25 goals with 16 assists in 111 games for the Rossoneri. Leao joined Milan on a five-year deal from LOSC Lille in 2019 and appears to have doubled in value.
But forgetting City have better options in their squad, is Leao really prolific enough for such a financial outlay? The Portuguese international has scored nine goals with five assists in 30 Serie A games this season, but Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne and Sterling all have more league goals while Jesus, Joao Cancelo and De Bruyne have more assists.
Leao is a talented young player, but he doesn’t improve City’s squad and wouldn’t provide value for money, so this story isn’t going anywhere. He has two years remaining on his deal at Milan too, so the Italians aren’t obligated to cash in just yet.
In other news, Thierry Henry says Pep Guardiola should keep Gabriel Jesus at Manchester City