In the summer of 2022, Senegalese winger Sadio Mane left Anfield. In the following summer of 2023, Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino left Liverpool when his contract expired.
Among the strongest front three, who made defenders around the world tremble, only the Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah played.
While he still leads the Liverpool attack, recent additions Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo have yet to reach their full potential and are inferior in terms of combinations and ideas.
Diogo Jota is also out injured every season and may need to be further strengthened, and according to François Plateau, a sports journalist, Liverpool has listed AC Milan’s Portuguese international Rafael Leon as their next target.
He also claims that Liverpool are willing to give up the Colombian winger, who has not regained his sharpness due to injury, despite his outstanding performance immediately after joining the club.
🚨Exclusive: Liverpool have identified AC Milan attacker Rafael Leão as the ‘perfect’ heir to Sadio Mané, and could offer Luis Díaz + cash for the Portuguese international. pic.twitter.com/BUjNlEIpBh
— François Plateau (@francoisplateau) December 25, 2023
Interest in the 24-year-old winger is often reported from the Italian side. However, it is hard to imagine a serious attempt to acquire a player who is not much older than the current squad and who has not been very decisive this season, scoring three goals in 14 games.
In addition, his contract was just renewed in June 2023 and his new contract runs through June 2028; taking him away from AC Milan would likely require a hefty budget, and we can be assured that there is no future for spending big money on a left winger who is not a top priority.
Nevertheless, it is time for him to step up from Serie A, and will he walk into a new challenge in another country…?