Tottenham Hotspur are being backed to land a “huge upgrade” to their forward line, if they can secure the proposed signing of Rafael Leao from AC Milan, in a move that would finally fix their troublesome left-wing issue.
Having allowed legendary former skipper Son Heung-min to leave last summer, all options tried and failed to provide any sort of consistent play from the left-hand side of the Spurs forward line during the 2025/26 season.
Xavi Simons was tried out there, Wilson Odobert had a fair crack before his injury, as did Mathys Tel, while Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani were also utilised in that position.
But it appears that Roberto De Zerbi saw enough in his small seven-game sample size to realise that a top-quality player is required opposite Mohammed Kudus, assuming the Ghana star is fit to start the new campaign.
Manchester City’s Savinho continues to be heavily linked with a switch to Tottenham, but there appears to be more buzz surrounding Leao, who our sources have informed us has already said yes to moving to the capital.
And now European expert Andy Brassell has given his verdict on Leao heading to Spurs and exactly what the Portugal international will give De Zerbi’s side, as the attacker pushes hard for a Milan exit.
“Rafael Leao is not at the peak of his form at the moment,” Brassell told talkSPORT. “But that probably means he’s a potential bargain for some lucky Premier League team out there.
“He’s had some stuff going on off the pitch as well – personal stuff that he’s had to deal with which is no doubt affected him.
“But as we said, even with him playing below potential, the numbers have actually been pretty good if we overlook the fact that he didn’t create as much as he might have done last season and, in fact, all the numbers have been down.
“But what this has meant is that there’s a potential bargain there. We talked about that 175 million euro buyout clause.
“No one’s paying even half that at the moment. There’s no question of that.
“So this brings the Premier League teams back into the picture. It’s not just about the Saudi clubs. And he’s shown a real disinclination to go to Saudi.
“He wants to stay in Europe, and he wants to test himself in the Premier League.”
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Leao did himself no harm with his limited game time at the World Cup, scoring a goal and adding an assist in only one start across his five appearances for Portugal.
“He said before the World Cup that he thinks this is the moment for him at 27 to separate from Milan,” Brassell added.
“So I guess the question is: can he do it, and where is the fit? He can definitely do it. We’ve seen that in this World Cup.
“In fact, in that rather scratchy last 32 performance that Portugal gave against Croatia, he was one of their better players.
“He’s brilliant on that left-hand side, creating the winner with a fantastic cross for Goncalo Ramos. How much is he as well?
“So underlining exactly what an impactful player he can be any given moment. Before you look at his dribbling and his speed, the way he can change pace and direction. It just glides on the ball. It looks so effortless, almost like Thierry Henry in that sort of slot.
“He never looks like he’s busting a blood vessel, but he’s completely outpacing others. So the second bit that who really see?
“We know Tottenham were interested in him, and that would be a really interesting bit, a big upgrade for him for them on that left-hand side.
“Of course, since Son [Heung-min] has gone, they’ve not really had a player of that sort of explosive quality in that sort of area of the pitch, and I think they are comparable because even though Son did become more central in the closing part of his time, it’s first we know Rafael now can do that.
“We know he can come inside and score goals as well, and maybe the fluidity of the Premier League and the pace of it really works for him in that sense in the sense that he’s always fighting for the right to counter-attack.
“Now look, there are loads of other clubs that he could end up at, but with Tottenham really nailing their colours to the mast in terms of getting out there in terms of battering down all the previous cliches about them not spending money this season – He would be a huge, huge upgrade in attack.
“Working with a coach as intense as Roberto De Zerbi might get the best out of him consistently, which is exactly what he needs at the age of 27 if he’s really to become one of the best players in the world.”