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Rafael Leao growth and early season form a huge boost for Milan

Sumeet Paul

AC Milan have seen a number of key players step up so far this season, and among them has been forward Rafael Leao.

The 22-year-old has received his fair share of criticism since joining the Rossoneri in August 2019, as it has been a slow process in terms of him delivering on his potential.

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In addition to that, and perhaps a more concerning reason behind the sometimes warranted critiques, has been his perceived attitude on the pitch at times and an inability to sacrifice himself for the team by working hard off the ball and playing his part when not directly involved.

During the lockdowns over the past 18 months, it became evident that this was an area in need of improvement, with Stefano Pioli regularly heard on the sidelines in empty stadiums encouraging the Portuguese forward to work harder in tracking back and putting pressure on the opposition.

There’s no denying the pace, technical skill and finishing that Leao possesses, but at this stage of his career and with the team’s needs in mind, he needed to contribute so much more, especially if he wasn’t delivering in the final third.

Last season, Leao managed seven goals and six assists in 40 appearances.

Those are relatively respectable returns, especially when taking his age into consideration, but with Milan looking to take that next step to compete for the Scudetto and at the highest level in the Champions League, we needed more.

The early signs this season are certainly positive. In nine appearances, Leao already has four goals and an assist, and so it’s important he now builds on this and continues to show growth and maturity on the pitch.

Further, it’s not just the goals that have ensured he’s become a constant fixture in the Milan starting XI. Albeit injuries have played their part in that too with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud missing a number of games already, but his work-rate and work ethic have shown signs of improvement and that is what Pioli and Milan fans wanted to see.

If he can put all these pieces of his game together, there is a really high ceiling for his career. Milan will continue to lean on him in the coming weeks, and it’s hoped that things are now starting to fall into place for Leao to understand what is required of him at an elite level of the game.

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