There’s such excitement surrounding Tottenham Hotspur‘s summer transfer dealings so far, although the Lilywhites will be going nowhere fast unless significant upgrades are made in the forward line.
Almost every senior attacker was pegged back by injury in 2025/26, with only Richarlison truly walking away with any sort of credit in the bank, following his haul of 11 Premier League goals to top the scoring charts.
So much was expected of the likes of Randal Kolo Muani, following his loan arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, yet the Frenchman was largely abject, chipping in with just one league goal all season.
Even £65m man Dominic Solanke can’t be sure of his place after a second injury-hit campaign at N17, with Roberto De Zerbi in dire need of further firepower if he is to make Spurs a competitive outfit again.
Signing AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, therefore, could be a good place to start.
How Leao fared at the World Cup this summer
Set to be cast aside at San Siro amid the arrival of Ruben Amorim by all accounts, Leao is believed to have said yes to joining Tottenham this summer, after seven years in Italy.
In 291 games for Milan, the 27-year-old has scored 80 goals, 64 of which have come in Serie A, so often wreaking havoc in that left channel.
On the international scene, Leao hasn’t always been a regular starter for Portugal, but he did show flashes at this summer’s World Cup, his pace and power looking so at odds with the ageing, cumbersome figure of Cristiano Ronaldo alongside him.
While typically deployed off the bench, prior to his country’s exit at the hands of Spain, Leao made his presence felt almost every time, tearing past defenders at will down the left flank.
Alongside his thumping finish against Uzbekistan, the former Lille star also supplied one assist and averaged a stellar 2.2 successful dribbles per game, ranking joint-seventh in the entire competition for total successful dribbles made.
He’s a powerhouse of a forward, someone who can win a game on his own when needed, with this Spurs side crying out for a genuine world-beater who can elevate the levels immediately.
Leao can certainly do just that, although he’s not the only option worth considering.
How Spurs could still sign a bigger talent than Leao
The indication is that Leao will be allowed to leave Milan as he doesn’t fit into Amorim’s preferred 3-4-2-1 set-up, the Portuguese coach having been wedded to that approach at former club Manchester United.
|
Leao – Serie A record |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games |
Goals (Assists) |
|
25/26 |
29 |
9 (3) |
|
24/25 |
34 |
8 (8) |
|
23/24 |
34 |
9 (9) |
|
22/23 |
35 |
15 (8) |
|
21/22 |
34 |
11 (8) |
|
20/21 |
30 |
6 (6) |
|
19/20 |
31 |
6 (1) |
One man who knows all about that is Marcus Rashford, the Englishman exiled by the ex-United boss 18 months ago, despite actually scoring three times in Amorim’s first two Premier League games in charge.
Rashford subsequently joined Aston Villa and then Barcelona on loan, although heading into next season, a re-integration at Old Trafford could be on the cards, with the Catalan side plumping for England colleague Anthony Gordon instead.
As per TEAMtalk, the plan is for the 28-year-old to link back up with Michael Carrick and co as things stand, although intermediaries are still offering him to potential suitors, with Spurs among them.
It does appear that the north Londoners are one of a string of elite clubs to have been approached regarding a move for the Carrington graduate, suggesting that talks have been held.
Now, considering Rashford’s woes at United in recent years, this might feel like a deal to avoid, particularly considering the forward’s hefty salary.
And yet, without question, he remains “one of the best players in the world” when at his best, as hailed by the aforementioned Gordon, having made his mark in England’s group stage opener against Croatia after netting off the bench.
That comes after racking up 28 goals and assists in all competitions at Camp Nou last term, significantly ahead of Leao’s record of just 13 goal involvements back at Milan.
In the Champions League, for instance, Rashford racked up nine goals and assists in just 11 outings, taking his total record in the competition to 29 goals and assists in 48 games. As for Leao, he only has 13 goals and assists in 30 games at that level.
Of course, life at Old Trafford hasn’t always been kind to ‘Rashy’, but when fit, firing and confident, he can almost be unstoppable, as he showed back in 2022/23 after scoring 30 goals in all competitions, alongside racking up 12 assists.
Leao, for all his quality, just hasn’t ever come close to that kind of peak, his best-ever return in a season seeing him produce 31 goals and assists across all competitions, well below Rashford’s career-best of 42.
At every club, at every competition and at every level, Rashford has scored goals. He might not have become the genuine superstar that he looked set to be when bursting onto the scene as a teenager back in 2016, but he’s the kind of signing that any side would be lucky to make.
For a reported fee of just £40m too, this feels like a no-brainer.