Why Spurs have offered to re-sign £35m Rafael Leao clone for De Zerbi

When Roberto De Zerbi walked in the door at Tottenham Hotspur, the Italian had just seven games to try and sort out the mess in north London.

The relegation-threatened side went on to lose just two out of those remaining fixtures, battling their way to vital draws against Brighton and Leeds United, while seeing off Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton.

It was surprise hero Joao Palhinha who scored the key goal on the final day to clinch survival, having also netted a late winner away at Molineux, the Portuguese rounding things off as the second-highest scorer for the club with five Premier League goals.

That record speaks to the woes of Spurs’ forward line, an area of the pitch yet to be bolstered this summer under De Zerbi’s watch. Rafael Leao, anyone?

The latest on Spurs’ interest in Rafael Leao

Every signing at N17 so far this summer has been from within the Premier League, although the ENIC regime could buck the trend by plucking Leao from San Siro over the coming weeks.

Potentially set to be cast aside by new AC Milan boss Ruben Amorim, the Portuguese speedster appears in need of a fresh start regardless, having first moved to Italy back in 2019.

With just two years to run on his existing contract, now might be the ideal time for Milan to cash in, the 27-year-old having actually only started 23 Serie A games last time out.

He could, by all accounts, now be set to join former teammate Sandro Tonali in north London, having made it clear that he is ‘ready to say yes‘ to a summer Spurs switch.

The belief is that the former Lille man has his heart set on playing in the Premier League, with Tottenham seemingly at the front of the queue for his signature as things stand.

In terms of a price tag, Leao could cost in the region of £51m, making this an achievable target as De Zerbi and co look to strengthen off the left and through the middle.

Indeed, bolstering the forward line, after the signings of Mateus Fernandes and Tonali, is now seemingly the priority.

Spurs make offer to re-sign £35m forward

It does feel as if Spurs paid the price for their misfortune from last summer, having missed out on a string of attacking targets, namely Morgan Gibbs-White, Eberechi Eze and Bryan Mbeumo.

Thomas Frank also admitted that he had been keen to sign Antoine Semenyo too, albeit with the Ghanaian speedster ultimately joining Manchester City instead, having ended the campaign with 17 top-flight goals.

Considering Richarlison was the only player at the club to break double figures for both goals and total goal involvements in the league, it is clear why reinforcements are needed.

Well, one move that could come as a surprise is a potential reunion with Randal Kolo Muani, with Italian outlet Tuttosport reporting that the Frenchman ‘could return to Tottenham’.

De Zerbi doesn’t appear to be against the idea, with Spurs named among the clubs believed to have made an offer to the 27-year-old, alongside teams in Germany.

Juventus are also in the mix for a player who could command a fee of €40m (£35m), with there certainly a market for the versatile striker despite his woes in north London.

Now, of course, 2025/26 didn’t go to plan for Kolo Muani in a Tottenham shirt, his only league goal coming in the North London derby defeat earlier this year.

He did net four times in just nine Champions League outings, however, with two of those coming against his parent club, Paris Saint-Germain.

He did also start six of De Zerbi’s seven games in charge, suggesting that while options were undoubtedly slim in attack, the one-time Nantes man had the backing of his manager.

It wasn’t a fruitful loan spell, although Kolo Muani did enjoy his time in Serie A on loan at Juve in 2025 previously, scoring ten times in just 22 games in Turin.

Like Leao, the in-demand marksman looked like such a handful up against Serie A defences, his pace and power difficult to contain, be it from the right, left or in a number nine role.

Give him space in behind, like Leao, and the Frenchman can be deadly, with that time in Italy seeing him score eight goals from just 13 league starts, having boasted a goal conversion rate of 31%. He also averaged 1.1 per game for both key passes and successful dribbles.

For comparison, that same season saw Leao also score eight Serie A goals for Milan, while his average in both of those latter metrics was only just ahead at 1.7, respectively.

The pair have both also shown flashes of what they can do at international level, even while never being the main man, with Kolo Muani netting against Morocco in the 2022 World Cup semi-final, albeit while missing that chance in the subsequent showpiece.

In 2026, Kolo Muani didn’t make the cut, although Leao had been a bright spark for Portugal over recent weeks, scoring once against Uzbekistan, while proving such a handful off the bench down the left flank.

Neither man necessarily has that real level of consistency, but just as there is with Leao, there could be an explosive player in there for De Zerbi to nurture next season.

Let’s face it, Spurs didn’t see anywhere close to Kolo Muani’s best in a turbulent campaign last time out, yet under more stable conditions, perhaps it could be second time lucky.