Chelsea target Rafael Leao will be at the 2022 World Cup with Portugal as Todd Boehly eyes possible transfer moves to re-shape the Blues squad in his and Graham Potter's image. One World Cup scouting missing has already been ruined for Chelsea after France's Christopher Nkunku was ruled him out of the tournament following a knee injury suffered in training.
However, the Blues will be hoping the same fate is not suffered by Leao as he is set to play a significant role for Portugal after more impressive displays at club level for AC Milan. The 24-year-old has seven goals and nine assists from 20 appearances.
In two of those matches though Leao struggled to have any lasting impact, and depending on how you view the outcome, it could be seen as a positive or negative for Chelsea, with both of those attacking blanks coming in the Champions League group stage matches against Chelsea.
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Leao was particularly ineffective in both games, where Milan would have lost 5-0 on aggregate had it been a knockout tie, but his drab performances helped Chelsea qualify and perhaps lessen any future price tag Milan would place on the shoulders of their star forward.
Nonetheless, Chelsea are still interested in acquiring his services and Leao has another opportunity to impress the Chelsea hierarchy where the stakes, again, will be high as he begins his World Cup journey with Portugal on Thursday, November 24 against Ghana.
Boehly and co won't be the only ones keeping a close eye on Leao though, as Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Barcelona have included him on their list of potential transfer targets to watch at the tournament in Qatar.
The immediate future of Leao may be in Italy with Milan, who he has a contract with until 2024, which also reportedly has a €150million (£130.5million) release clause, although a fee could be negotiated if a move to Chelsea is what Leao desires.
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