Milan and Leao at a Crossroads, Barcelona Lurking | OneFootball

Barcelona are keeping an eye on what’s going on between Rafael Leao and Milan, as the star has been deployed from the bench more often than in previous years and than his status would suggest. The Blaugrana are long-term admirers of the Portuguese, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs (via Virgilio).

On the other hand, their financial situation is precarious. They’d have to be creative to come to terms to sign him. His valuation is still hefty. They’d try to use a partial makeweight, for instance, Ansu Fati. It’s unlikely to be a topic for January, but it’s the most concrete alternative for the winger’s future. He’s not keen on going to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the Middle Eastern League limited its investments last summer.

Barcelona would have some chances of snapping up Leao eventually if he didn’t click with their coach. Milan are well aware that he can’t have a secondary role in the long run. He needs to be one of the centerpieces and top performers given his €7M salary and €175M release clause. It’s optimistic to think a team will ever trigger it.

The forward has been used as a sub three times in nine Serie A matches. He’s likely to start versus Monza, but the duel with Noah Okafor will continue. Paulo Fonseca has done it also to have more balance, as he doesn’t track back as much as he should.

Our Take on Milan, Leao, and Barcelona

The boss isn’t wrong in treating everybody the same way, and it’s kind of working because he had some of his best showings in his cameo. It’s a matter for next summer, but a big offer might indeed end the soap opera.