{"id":812708,"date":"2026-03-08T17:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T17:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/812708\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T17:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T17:55:24","slug":"why-liverpools-pursuit-of-murillo-puts-pressure-on-giovanni-leoni-in-particular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/812708\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Liverpool’s pursuit of Murillo puts pressure on Giovanni Leoni in particular"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Add as preferred source on Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

Nottingham Forest\u2019s Murillo is the latest centre-back target to be linked with a transfer to Liverpool.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Brazilian is one of the Premier League\u2019s most imposing centre-backs and an exciting prospect for FSG\u2019s defensive rebuild. <\/p>\n

His profile is more akin to Ibrahima Konate<\/a> than it is to Virgil van Dijk, and if Liverpool are to make that signing, it would leave us lacking in possession. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Giovanni Leoni<\/a> becomes extra important if this is the direction Arne Slot<\/a> wants to take. <\/p>\n

Take your pick between two of our biggest moments in recent memory \ud83d\ude4c <\/p>\n

\"LiverpoolPhoto by Michael Regan\/Getty Images\/Getty Images For The Premier League Giovanni Leoni could be Liverpool\u2019s best ball-playing centre-back <\/p>\n

Liverpool are in the race for Murillo<\/a>, and he could well be at Anfield<\/a> at the start of next season. <\/p>\n

The Brazilian is an impressive player. He has power, speed, likes to drive forward and is a nightmare matchup in the air. <\/p>\n

That said, there are some facets of his game that aren\u2019t of an elite standard \u2014 primarily, on the ball. <\/p>\n

New Liverpool signing Jeremy Jacquet<\/a> doesn\u2019t have that to his game yet either, more comfortable dribbling the ball than spraying it to his teammates. Konate, if he stays, would fall into that group as well.<\/p>\n

\"VirgilPhoto by Liverpool FC\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Leoni is by no means the finished article in that regard, and the numbers don\u2019t place him well ahead of the aforementioned defenders. But watching him in action last season, you can see the composure and technical polish more reminiscent to a Van Dijk. <\/p>\n

Speaking of Van Dijk, he will eventually need phasing out of the starting XI, and if Liverpool are going for Murillo now, it suggests there won\u2019t be a world-class ball player added to the heart of the defence. <\/p>\n

That puts the pressure on Leoni to grow into that role. He has all the physical and technical attributes, and just needs to get Premier League minutes under his belt. <\/p>\n

Murillo<\/a> isn\u2019t the only centre-back on Liverpool\u2019s summer shopping list. Players like Nico Schlotterbeck and Alessandro Bastoni are also being eyed. <\/p>\n

If it is to be the Forest defender, though, it sets Leoni up for a regular spot in the first XI once Van Dijk<\/a> starts fading. <\/p>\n

Which category does Virgil van Dijk rank in the best centre-backs in football history? <\/p>\n

Is he even better than Maldini? \ud83d\ude31<\/p>\n

\"VirgilPhoto credit: Getty Images\/Chris Brunskill\/Fantasista <\/p>\n

Without a technical foil like Leoni \u2014 who mirrors Van Dijk\u2019s composure and long-range vision \u2014 a Murillo-Konate pairing risks turning Liverpool from a ball-dominant side into a reactive one. Leoni isn\u2019t just an option; he is the tactical insurance policy for a post-Van Dijk era.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add as preferred source on Google Nottingham Forest\u2019s Murillo is the latest centre-back target to be linked with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,96045,4884,179,43535,16,15],"class_list":["post-812708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-liverpool","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-giovanni-leoni","tag-great-britain","tag-liverpool","tag-murillo","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116194844990581373","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}