Liverpool are closing in on a £26million deal for Parma’s teenage centre back Giovanni Leoni, who will go straight into the first team set-up.
Leoni, 18, has emerged as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe and Liverpool are poised to beat Italian clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan in the race to secure his signing.
It is understood that Premier League sides, including Manchester United and Newcastle United, also showed late interest in the player, who has previously said Virgil van Dijk is his inspiration.
Provided that there are no late hitches, he will now have the opportunity to learn alongside the Liverpool captain, with Leoni effectively replacing Jarell Quansah, who was sold to Bayer Leverkusen for £35million, in head coach Arne Slot’s squad.
Liverpool’s belief in Leoni is such as that suggestions that he would be loaned back to Parma were never realistic. At 6ft 5in, the robust and athletic defender broke into the Parma starting line-up in the second half of last season under head coach Cristian Chivu, who has since joined Inter, and made 17 appearances during the campaign.
Parma utilised a back three and Leoni was either in the middle or deployed as the right centre back.
He was sent off in a game against Roma in February, but then featured in matches against Inter, Juventus and Napoli. Parma did not concede while Leoni was on the pitch in those three matches and he stood up physically in a duel with Romelu Lukaku during the 0-0 draw against Serie A title winners Napoli.
Leoni gets to grips with Lukaku during the draw between Parma and Napoli in May
LUCA AMEDEO BIZZARRI/GETTY IMAGES
Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, made contact with the Parma chief executive, Federico Cherubini, on Wednesday to finalise the transfer. It is likely that there will be some add-ons on top of the initial £26million fee.
The Anfield club has been searching for a young centre half for three successive summers as they look to future-proof their options. Interest in Chelsea’s Levi Colwill, Lille’s Leny Yoro and Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen could not proceed for different reasons, which has kept the search for a young talent high on Liverpool’s list of priorities.
Colwill remained at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea unwilling to sell, Yoro moved to Manchester United because he wanted to play regularly and Huijsen preferred the lure of Real Madrid.
Leoni will join Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez as centre backs in the Liverpool first-team squad, and Arrigo Sacchi, the celebrated former AC Milan coach, regards the youngster highly.
Sacchi believes the under-19 international can become a cornerstone of Italy’s senior team and, writing in Gazzetta dello Sport, was effusive in his praise. “I’m convinced he’ll be the linchpin of the Azzurri defence for a long time,” he wrote. “Some, regarding a possible transfer to Liverpool, object that this young man has only made 17 Serie A appearances so far. Aren’t those few? No, I reply. Not few, because on those occasions Leoni has demonstrated the qualities needed to go far.
“If someone is good, if someone has their head in the right place, it’s immediately obvious. A person can have 200 Serie A games under their belts and still not possess the qualities Leoni displayed in his first season as an adult. Talent knows no age.”
Liverpool have also opened talks with Crystal Palace over Marc Guéhi, whom they value at about £35million given the England international has only one year remaining on his contract.
The Palace chairman, Steve Parish, does not want to lose Guéhi for free, but a percentage of any sale must go to the player’s former club, Chelsea and, so far, he has valued the England international at a higher price. Talks are continuing for the England international, with Palace aware that the player wants to join the Premier League champions.