Milan remakes attack: Leao to bid farewell, market swap to keep Allegri happy
After seven years at Milanello, Rafa Leao is ending what many are calling his least brilliant year in a Rossoneri shirt. This downturn in performance seems to have opened a crack in the Rossoneri club’s firm resolve to retain him at any cost, making the possibility of a summer transfer something more than just a suggestion. Although Milan’s ideal strategy envisages a totally cash transfer of the Portuguese star to finance the next market, Manchester United is preparing an alternative proposal involving three technical pawns of depth to lower the cost of the operation and tempt the Milanese managers.
The first card the English could drop is that of Joshua Zirkzee, a profile that the Italian public knows perfectly well for what he showed at Bologna, but who in the Premier League has struggled to find continuity, collecting so far few game snaps. Alongside the Dutch striker, United’s management would be considering the inclusion of Manuel Ugarte, a halfback who does not seem to have found the right feeling with the Old Trafford environment and who has already ended up on the radars of other Serie A clubs. The last name, certainly the most fascinating in terms of international caliber, is that of Marcus Rashford. The English striker is finishing his time on loan at Barcelona and, should the Catalans fail to exercise the right of redemption, he would become the perfect element for a complex swap deal. The ball is now in the hands of the Rossoneri management, which is called to assess whether these profiles can really compensate for the technical sacrifice linked to the departure of their number ten.
Making the picture even more intricate is the economic valuation of Leao’s player’s card. Milan would set a realistic auction base around 50-60 million euros, a figure far removed from the 175 million rescission clause inserted in the past in the contract to armor him from the assault of top clubs, but considered congruous with the current parameters of the international market. With a contract due to expire in 2028, the Rossoneri management is aware that this summer probably represents the last useful window to monetize in a reasonable manner, avoiding further depreciation of the tag in the years to come.
Manchester United is, moreover, not the only club on the trail of the Rossoneri number 10. From Spain, Marca reports that Barcelona has also included Leao in a list of strikers Joan Laporta would like to bring to the blaugrana, although the Portuguese is not the Catalan management’s first choice. It is a scenario that could lead to interesting implications, since AC Milan in turn has Robert Lewandowski in its sights, whose renewal with the Catalans appears anything but a foregone conclusion.
