As suggested by his coach, Rafael Leao will spend some time with his family before reporting to the Portuguese national team ahead of the two upcoming Euro qualifiers. The striker is officially in a funk since he last scored on January 14th. In 2023, he provided just 2 assists in 11 matches. Before the winter break, he had hit the net 6 times and set up 5 teammates in 14 games.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the star hasn’t looked particularly comfortable since Milan switched from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1. In addition, the uncertainty about his future is a negative factor too. Stefano Pioli alluded that he may go back if things don’t improve, on top of offering the attacker some pointers.
“I told him to be more incisive and plays as a pure striker. He operated too distant from the goal versus Udinese. He’s not struggling, but he tends to track back too much when he doesn’t get enough touches. However, you can’t get the ball that far away and then glide past five or six opponents.”
The gaffer stated that Leao looked good in practice lately, so it wasn’t a matter of fatigue. In the meantime, the front office will have a new contact, either in person or via phone, to discuss his extension in the next fortnight. It’s unlikely it will bring substantial changes, though.
The Rossoneri haven’t lost all hope, but part of his entourage continues to work toward his departure. The problem for the team is that his price tag would be impacted if he kept slumping. It’s already unlikely his sale would fetch nine-digit fees, as could have been the case last summer right after he was named Serie A’s MVP.
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