Manchester City Linked To This AC Milan Winger: What Will He Add To Guardiola’s Side? | OneFootball

In a recent report from Sports Illustrated, it was stated that Manchester City have been linked with AC Milan’s Rafael Leao. It has also been mentioned that Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of this Portuguese winger, so he wouldn’t be waiting until the FIFA World Cup to assess his talents, meaning the Sky Blues could very well make a bid for him before any other club.

Leao’s Recent Form In Italian Football

Leao had a terrific campaign at San Siro as he produced a series of influential displays for AC Milan in the attacking third. The 23-year-old scored 14 goals and produced 12 assists over 42 appearances for the Italian giants last season on all fronts. Furthermore, he has had a solid start this season scoring 3 goals and creating 5 assists in 8 matches across all competitions.

The Almada-born talent gave a good account of himself down the left flank in his previous campaign based on his average of 2.9 shots, 1.3 key passes and 2.9 dribbles until now.

Manchester City

However, he was poor in taking care of distributing the ball in the final third, as evidenced by his pass success rate of 74.8% in the top tier of Italian football in the previous season. Leao has certainly worked on his distributing skills completing 81.9% of his attempted passes and with his contract expiring at the end of this year Manchester City would be in a good position to acquire his services on a cut-price deal in the next transfer window. (stats via whoscored)

What Will He Add To Manchester City Boss Pep Guardiola’s Team?

Leao has been a reliable performer at San Siro; he has proven his worth as a prolific winger who can find the back of the net and set up his teammates in front of the goal.

The Portuguese sensation excels at getting past defenders from a tight situation and can cause a lot of problems for his marker out in the wide areas. There is no denying that the talented winger has what it takes to become a future star in European football.

At 23, Leao’s best years are ahead of him which makes him a decent fit for the Mancunian giants. However, life in the Premier League is tough and demands a lot from the players but if Leao could handle the pressure and perform consistently then he could be a decent replacement for Raheem Sterling who made his exit this summer.