Leao explains why he thinks Pulisic is better ‘as a number 10’: “He can do everything” | OneFootball

Rafael Leao has given an interview with ESPN in which he spoke about the difficulty of Serie A and also made an interesting comment on where he sees Christian Pulisic’s best position.

Leao joined up with the rest of the Milan squad earlier in the week out in the United States having concluded his vacation after the European Championship with Portugal, which ended with a quarter-final exit to Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan’s France on penalties.

A crucial season awaits for the winger after a 2023-24 season where he alternated his usual moments of brilliance with some more anonymous performances, and the hope is that his compatriot Paulo Fonseca can raise him and the other players to the next level.

Leao spoke to ESPN about a number of different topics from playing alongside Pulisic to what Serie A is like as a league, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“I knew Pulisic’s qualities well. He wasn’t playing a lot at Chelsea. I wasn’t surprised at all, he has great quality. When he arrived at Milan I sent him a message and I wrote: brother, let’s kill them. We really needed someone like him to bring something different to the pitch,” he said.

“Serie A is a very complicated league, the defenders are strong and we needed someone different, someone with quality and speed and I think Pulisic has fitted in very well in our team.

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“I’m very happy to have him as a teammate, he’s a player who can change the game in a second. I’m happy with him and I expect him to repeat himself, or rather maybe improve further in the season that is about to begin.

“I’m not a coach, but I prefer Christian when he plays as a number 10. From the centre he has the ability to occupy space both on the left and on the right. I think he can be very dangerous in that position, but in general he does very well both as an attacking midfielder and on the right.

“As a 10 he would give me some assists, we could play fast, with one-twos or with a touch in the middle of the field… he can do everything.”