Former Barcelona and Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes that AC Milan forward Rafael Leao hasn't quite unlocked his full potential yet. It comes amid links with the Portugal international and a potential switch to Chelsea in January, having missed out on a transfer back in the summer.
Leao has since continued to impress on both the club and international stage, even earning a call-up to Portugal's World Cup squad. While his nation were on the receiving end of an upset to Morocco, the winger had limited minutes, but still managed to score his first World Cup goals from the bench.
With the January transfer window around the corner and a dwindling contract, the 23-year-old could yet make the move to west London. Graham Potter hinted as such earlier this season when facing the Rossoneri in the Champions League: "You can see Leao’s quality and skills, it’s obvious. But he is part of a strong team. We have to respect that [he is under contract].”
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Leao has only gone on to add further fuel to the fire of speculation over a transfer to Chelsea, with plenty of public back and forth with Reece James. There's also been hints on social media, having followed the club's official TikTok account as only a handful of accounts that he follows.
If Chelsea needed any convincing over a deal, then they may have been handed exactly that from teammate Ibrahimovic. He discussed the forward with Sky Italia, saying: "His potential was already seen when I arrived, he was just waiting for him to grow.
“But getting to Rafa’s level is difficult because he’s above normal. When Leao understands how strong he is, he’ll take another step. It’s scary. In my opinion, he doesn’t know how strong he is today.”
It remains to be seen if a deal will be pursued in January, however it could help the Blues find better consistency when it comes to results.
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