Rafael Leao is probably still a winger to most, but the AC Milan star has broadened his horizons, thanks to Massimiliano Allegri.
When he joined the club in the summer, it was clear that Allegri had a plan for Leao. He wanted him to be central to the team, not just in terms of inspiration and leadership, but also literally; he wanted a No.9 version of the Portuguese.
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So far, the move has been difficult due to injuries. However, the path forward is clear, and the route so far only shows how much he has already developed.
Five signs from Leao
As Gazzetta dello Sport writes, there are five new parts to Leao’s game, where he can be identified as a striker.
Firstly, he now has the movements of a typical No.9. In the past, he has been a player to drive with the ball, and whilst that is still the case on occasions, he is slightly more ‘robust’ now. He sprints much less, instead focusing on the actual movements.
Considering his injury, the lack of sprints does make sense. However, if he can add this to his game, as well as the movement he is showing, he could be unstoppable.
Tied into that point is the fact that Leao has scored two headers this season, which is a first for his time in Italy. It goes down to instinct, and that is also becoming more striker-like, and this is the reason he has also grown to be more comfortable shooting with his left foot, as he did against Cagliari.
The final two points refer more to the work of a double-striker system, where Leao can combine the positioning of a striker with the creativity of a wide player. Against Como, he made a fantastic assist for Adrien Rabiot, whilst he could’ve had another against Lecce, had Christian Pulisic not missed.
Him providing in central areas proves that he can also play off of another option, and with Allegri seemingly infatuated by the 3-5-2, this is only a benefit.
His transformation is not done yet; there is still a way to go. However, the initial signs are only positive.
Leao is becoming a system player. The numbers show that he’s more clinical and direct, yet you don’t see him smile once while he’s playing and often looks frustrated. I’m sure a lot of of has to do with him not being it top fitness but something seems off about him this season.
What numbers show that he is more clinical and direct?
If you take out the penalties, he would be on pace to again score less than 10 goal in serie A. How is he more clinical or different from previous seasons?
What makes him more direct? He has been a non factor in majority of the games he has played.
This article is nonsense. The only thing Leao did that resembles a striker was the goal he scored vs Lazio from a Tomori cross, everything else he has done came from him playing on the left. The 2 assists he has produced cane from him playing on the left. The one mentioned to Rabiot and he had another to Pavlovic vs Roma, i think.
Milan offensively looks terrible when Leao is the striker. The team looks/looked much better when Fulkrug and Gimenez played the 9.
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I dunno about him or Puli in the strike roles. They both seem uncomfortable and don’t seem like they like playing there. Yes they’re producing but that doesn’t mean it’s the best position for both of them
Pulisic seems uncomfortable?
He has never looked better and more comfortable than in his current role.
He’s got 10 goal contributions in a 1000 minutes played. If he actually converts the chances he gets in because of how comfortable he is in this role he’d have 15 goals so far. He has missed at least 4 chances on 1 with the goalkeeper and a penalty.
🤦♂️
Imagine Pulisic as the #10 behind two strikers. That’s where he would really thrive.
“Yes they’re producing but that doesn’t mean it’s the best position for both of them”
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Being played out of position and still scoring. And not one complaint.
I much prefer Leão on the left. This CF thing has him wasting away. He was offside for just about every buildup in the game against Lecce, and stayed offside even after the play gathers momentum and you need your Striker to be in position for that decisive pass.
I started hoping he’d just drift back to the LW like he used to do earlier when the whole CF experiment started.
A done, washed up player. He has never been a striker