Leeds United announced that they will face off against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly this summer in Dublin at the Aviva Stadium.
With Leeds United now set to take on Milan on Saturday 9th August 2025 at 3.00pm, they need to ensure they have as many of their new additions through the door as possible early on in pre-season.
The 51,700 capacity arena will play host to the Premier League club’s final pre-season friendly and is the third pre-season fixture which has been scheduled so far, with more to come early in the summer.
Leeds’ pre-season plans are taking shape and another which has been revealed is a trip to face bitter rivals Manchester United overseas, while Leeds will play Villarreal at Elland Road towards the end of pre-season, too.
AC Milan’s Chelsea pre-season game will impact Leeds in Dublin
The Milan game, in particular, is incredibly exciting. The two sides haven’t played one another since 2001 in the UEFA Champions League, with Leeds winning 2-1 across the games that season.
Competitively, they have only played one another on one other occasion. The ties between the pair don’t run deep, as evidenced by the fact Roque Junior is the only player to feature for both Leeds and Milan in his career.
However, both historic clubs have had numerous iconic players play for them and Gary Kelly’s combined Leeds and Milan XI says as much.
It’s sure to be an exciting occasion when Leeds play Milan, according to Kelly. Milan have superstars in their side even now despite missing out on European football for 2025/26.
They include Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan, Christian Pulisic, and Theo Hernandez on their books presently. But just how many of them will be playing in Dublin now remains up for debate.
That is due to the announcement that they have another pre-season game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge the following day. Presumably, that is where the best players will be getting a run out.
Therefore, Leeds will most likely be playing against a second-string and weakened Milan XI in Ireland, which perhaps takes some of the shine off what looks like the standout pre-season game this year.
- READ MORE: Leeds United’s last five opening day results in the Premier League ahead of fixture announcement
Which AC Milan players could Leeds target for the Premier League?
Without Champions League football, Milan are worse off financially and somewhat at the mercy of other clubs picking off their players.
That includes some of their fringe players but also some of their better players. However, that doesn’t include Leeds target Tammy Abraham of Milan as the striker is on loan from AS Roma.
Players such as Samuel Chukwueze, Malick Thiaw, and Yunus Musah would be quality additions capable of plugging holes in areas of Leeds’ current squad.
However, they would all be expensive and Leeds need to weigh up how much of their budget they are willing to part ways with for one solitary player this summer, given the volume of arrivals needed across the team.
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