_Rafa Leao showed Premier League clubs that he’s far from being a fading force after setting up Gonçalo Ramos’ winning goal against Croatia in Toronto yesterday._
_In extra-time, the mercurial Portuguese maverick star looked up and picked out his new AC Milan teammate Ramos with an inch-perfect delivery into a crowded box._
_During the game he was a real handful for Croatia’s defence, who just couldn’t live with his darting runs and bursts of accelerations. He even rattled the crossbar with a thunderbolt from distance._
_Yet that’s as good as it got for him in 2026 on the back of a lacklustre season with the club's highest-paid player inevitably carrying the can for Milan missing out on the Champions League for a second year running._
_If Massimiliano Allegri of all people couldn’t get through to him, then who can?_
_Perhaps a fresh start elsewhere is exactly what the 27-year-old needs to rediscover the energy and consistency he needs to kickstart his declining club career._
_One might be tempted to think that Mikel Arteta, in the market for a new winger to replace Trossard in the starting XI, can get him fit and firing again._
_However there's enough evidence suggesting that the Basque should take his hands off Leão after his punts on William, David Luiz and Raheem Sterling backfired._
_In the build-up to the World Cup, Leão floated the possibility of a move to England telling reporters that he was eyeing a new challenge after seven years in Serie A._
_And yesterday’s eye-catching performance strengthened his case of pursuing his career in the Premier League, the division he’s desperate to play in._
_Milan value him at €60m- but that would be hitting the jackpot._
_On the evidence of his last two seasons, Rossoneri fans would bite your hand off for a lot less than that._
_However goal-shy Elliot Anderson has inflated the market by joining City for double that fee._
_And if RF10 can spearhead Portugal’s World Cup bid and help Cristiano Ronaldo retire with the only trophy he’s lacking then Milan could be looking to bank a lot more than that._
_Remember when Enzo Fernandez’s heroic performances in Qatar laid the foundations for Messi to win the biggest prize in football convinced big-spenders Chelsea to pay £120 for him three-and-a-half years ago?_
_Up until the World Cup, not many outside of Argentina or Benfica had heard his name as Enzo quit boyhood club River Plate for a bargain £10k three months beforehand._
_This being said, if RF10 can reopen the GOAT debate by helping CR7 pull level with the legend from Rosario in terms of clean sweep then anything can happen._
_Yet with Spain and potentially France up next before final against either Brazil, England or Argentina that's blind optimism._
_Besides doubts persist as to whether Arteta can get a tune out of the ex-Lille star on a regular basis._
_Countrymen Sergio Conceicao and Paulo Fonseca’s attempts of doing just that, hit a snag._
_Likewise, Arteta doesn’t just need a left winger capable of beating his man and scoring a few wonder goals once in a blue moon._
_He needs someone he can trust week-in, week-out._
_And Leao is a player of moments who picks his games based on their importance and how he feels on a given day._
_On top of that he costs and earns a king's ransom._
_After firing Milan to the Scudetto in 2022, not many would raise an eyebrow if he does the same by clinching glory with Portugal this time around._
_Yet his mood swings are just too big a gamble for a club looking to retain the Premier League crown and lift the elusive Champions League next year._