Immense potential of Serie A winger may tempt Chelsea – but there are big warning signs | OneFootball

The rumours about Chelsea and Rafael Leao just won’t go away.

Perhaps it’s just that we know the Blues are looking for a left winger which keeps the rumour writers firing this one up. Whatever the case, the fact that Milan are struggling and look set to allow Leao to leave this summer means we expect plenty more chatter to come.

This time it’s Italian paper CalcioMercato who are leading the charge, claiming that the Blues have “made contact” with the former Sporting winger’s entourage.

It’s also suggested by CaughtOffside that the fact that Joao Felix is on loan at the San Siro could play into the arrangement, with some kind of part exchange suggested. We wouldn’t be so sure about that – after a good start Felix has already flattered to deceive in Italy, and was being called a “ghost” after his most recent performances.

They may well be happy to get rid of Leao, but that doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily want to bring in Felix to replace him.

Leao still feels an unlikely choice for Chelsea despite links

Rafael Leao in action for AC Milan against Bologna (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

While Leao is a very talented player, we’re not sure a that move to Chelsea is very likely. Even with the huge discount in play, he’s still too old and too expensive and carrying too significant a wage demand to be a player who really fits in our current model.

However, his unique combination of size, speed, strength and dribbling technique make him something of a “unicorn” player, and we can imagine many managers believing they’ll be the one to unlock his potential. But many have tried and many have failed. Paulo Fonseca had problems motivating him this season and was sacked, now new man Sergio Conceicao is in the exact same situation. Some players just don’t want to be helped and don’t want to learn – Leao might be one of them.