Chelsea have been linked with a potential move to sign a high-profile attacker for next season, but he’s just proved in the Champions League why the Blues should stay clear of him.
A lot of money has gone into assembling the Chelsea squad since the current Blues owners took charge. However, it’s obvious that there are still one or two gaps to upgrade, including in the attacking positions.
In general, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is ‘very happy’ with his squad as he looks to enjoy a successful debut season in the manager’s dugout.
We think that that the Blues are a tad light if they want to compete for silverware across the board, so the summer window will yet again be important for the club.
Chelsea should forget about transfer target after Champions League performance
AC Milan star Rafael Leao, 25, is an individual who’s already been linked with the Blues ahead of the summer transfer window.
Chelsea recently asked to be informed about Milan winger Leao. The clubs have been in dialogue because Joao Felix made the switch to the San Siro in the winter window on loan.
Italian giants Milan endured extreme disappointment in midweek as they were knocked out of this season’s Champions League by Feyenoord. The Serie A club could only manage 1-1 draw in the second leg, so were dumped out because of a 2-1 deficit on aggregate.
From a Chelsea perspective, the alarm bells should be ringing and warning them off Leao after his performance on Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old left-winger put in the kind of performance that demonstrates why he’s yet to really kick on to the world-class level.
Without a doubt, the Portuguese wide man has all the talent and skill you need to shine on the elite stage. In fact, during the first half versus Feyenoord he made the opposition full-back look helpless in a few moments with sublime pieces of dribbling.
Unfortunately, Leao couldn’t provide the end product or spark for Milan as they crashed out of the Champions League in the knockout round play-offs. When his side desperately needed him in the second period, he turned invisible.
| Minutes played | Goals | Assists | Total shots | Chances created | Successful dribbles | Accurate crosses | Match rating |
| 90 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6/12 (50%) | 0/5 (0%) | 6.8 |
Rafael Leao would be more of the same at Chelsea
We’d strongly advise Chelsea not to splash the cash and sign Leao in a mega summer transfer because he would mirror the current problems at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea supporters wanted to sign Leao after a Euro 2024 performance, but he simply doesn’t turn up in these big matches enough to deserve the hype.
In terms of the Blues wingers in the 2024/25 season, they’re guilty of not contributing enough and underperforming.
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Pedro Neto | 29 | 4 | 5 |
| Noni Madueke | 28 | 8 | 4 |
| Jadon Sancho | 22 | 2 | 6 |
| Mykhailo Mudryk | 15 | 3 | 5 |
| Tyrique George | 12 | 0 | 2 |
We’ll credit Leao for scoring nine goals and creating eight assists in 35 Milan appearances across all competitions this campaign. In some ways, he could be an upgrade on the current wide men in the Chelsea squad.
However, he doesn’t have the consistency to justify a big transfer and would represent a significant risk.
Chelsea believe they’ve hit the jackpot with Estevao Willian from Palmeiras, so perhaps they should take a detailed look at the 17-year-old winger when he officially joins in the summer before spending big again.
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