Liverpool has made a deal to sign young Italian defender Giovanni Leoni from Parma. The 18-year-old centre-back will cost around £26 million, which is about €30 million, and the amount could go higher with add-ons.
He will soon travel to Liverpool to agree on personal terms and have a medical check before officially joining the club.
Leoni is a highly rated player and has already played 17 Serie A matches for Parma, starting 14 of them last season. He joined Parma last summer and played a role in helping them finish 16th in the league. He is known for being strong in the air, good with the ball at his feet, and not afraid to go forward in attack. He even scored a goal against Cagliari in the Italian league.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that an agreement with Parma has been reached, but Leoni has not officially signed yet. Slot also said that Leoni will go straight into the first team and will not be sent out on loan. This move is important for Liverpool because they needed more players in defence after selling young centre-back Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.
Right now, Liverpool has some concerns in defence. Joe Gomez has missed most of pre-season with an injury, and Ibrahima Konaté’s future is still uncertain as his contract ends next year. Adding Leoni will give Liverpool more options along with Virgil van Dijk and Konaté. The club is also interested in signing Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace to make their defence even stronger.
Liverpool has been very active in this transfer window, spending around £260 to £270 million on new players. This summer’s major additions are Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez. They have also earned around £170 million from player sales. The team is preparing to defend their Premier League title after winning their 20th English league championship last season. But they will face a tough challenge this year as many strong teams are competing for the title.
The squad has changed a lot this summer. Several key players, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Caoimhin Kelleher, have left the club. The team and fans are also still mourning the tragic death of Diogo Jota in a car accident last month.