Liverpool have been linked with a rising star who Spurs are also said to be keen on - so who will sign him?
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Liverpool may have spent a small fortune this summer – in fact, in the space of two months they’ve outspent the estimated GDP of five sovereign nations – but Sunday’s Community Shield defeat suggested that Arne Slot and his transfer team still have some work to do.
The defence was a particular concern. Virgil van Dijk had a bad game that suggested a little bit of rust which needs shaking off. Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong weren’t always on their new colleagues’ wavelengths. And Ibrahima Konaté probably won’t be at Anfield in a couple of weeks. Replacing him? As it stands, perhaps nobody.
Long-running negotiations over Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi remain at an impasse with a £5m gap in valuation between the two teams. Even if he is signed, however, he will be one of only three senior central defenders at Liverpool, one of which – Joe Gomez – is injured anyway. Even if they do get a deal for Guéhi over the line, they will need further reinforcements.
Which is why it’s easy to lend plenty of credence to reports on Monday and Tuesday which suggest that Liverpool have entered the battle to sign one of Europe’s most promising young defenders – a player that Tottenham Hotspur are also keenly interested in. The outcome of that transfer battle could have a significant impact on Liverpool’s season…
Why Liverpool need to win the fight for Giovanni Leoni
The defender in question is Giovanni Leoni, an 18-year-old centre-back who broke into Parma’s first-team this season and quickly established himself as one of the most exciting defensive prospects in the game.
Although he has made just 14 league starts since moving from Sampdoria last summer, he has already left an indelible impression on Serie A thanks to his rare combination of physical traits, technical excellence and composure under pressure.
A powerful figure who stands at 6’5” and is every bit as effective in the air as one might expect from a player that tall, Leoni spent much of his first season in Italy’s top flight bullying more experienced forwards off fifty-fifty balls and using his frame to lever players off the ball.
Seldom one to lunge in, Leoni reads the game in remarkably perceptive manner for a player with so little game time under his belt and knows how to position himself to stay on his feet and narrow passing and shooting angles instead of being forced to take a chance on a tackle. Forwards who try to dribble their way through him find that he’s sturdy in one-on-one situations, as well.
His calm confidence with the ball at his feet is perhaps what stands out even more, though. Although he doesn’t look for opportunities to carry the ball forward himself, he is excellent under pressure and happy to play his way out of tight corners with a deft sidestep before moving possession on. An accurate passing game helps as well.
Beyond inexperience, Leoni has demonstrated very few weaknesses. There have been occasional moments when his youth has been a little evident – a straight red card against AS Roma for a last-man foul being the most glaring – but his all-round game is packed with quality and he has proven himself to be a capable performer at the top level already.
All of which explains the fact that a number of teams around Europe are interested. Most of Serie A’s biggest sides have been linked with a bid, while Spurs have been suggested by a number of media outlets as being close to the head of the queue – but now it looks as though Liverpool are trying to muscle in. So will they get this deal over the line?
Will Liverpool beat Spurs to the signing of Leoni?
On Monday, Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg claimed that Liverpool were “seriously considering” a bid for Leoni – a suggestion that was backed up by The Athletic on Tuesday, with David Ornstein and James Pearce lending their names to a story which claimed that they were “trying to persuade” the teenager to move to Anfield.
While Plettenberg’s earlier story implied that Leoni would only be signed as an alternative to Guéhi, The Athletic’s story has no such rider, and given his age and the likelihood that Liverpool would want to integrate him into the team gradually, it makes far more sense that they would be planning to buy him into addition to a regular starter. With Konaté still liable to leave, signing just one centre-back would leave them with only three on the books, one of them unfit for the start of the season.
While neither Plettenberg nor The Athletic mention Parma’s likely asking price, a number of other outlets have suggested a fee in the range of £30-35m including add-ons. They have also suggested that Spurs are extremely interested in signing the Italy Under-19 international as well.
Several Serie A clubs, such as Inter Milan and Juventus, are also believed to want him but none of them are in a position to meet Parma’s asking price this summer, leaving the door open for a Premier League club should they have the cash.
Spurs need extra depth at the back and face uncertainty over the future of Cristian Romero, who remains a potential target for both Real and Atlético Madrid, although the lack of movement on that front in recent weeks suggests that the Argentine may now stay in north London.
It is not believed that Spurs have made a formal offer for Leoni as yet and they now have other priorities, with Savinho and Eberechi Eze on their shortlist as they work to find alternatives to attacking midfielder James Maddison, who has been ruled out for the majority of the 2025/26 campaign by an ACL injury.
All of which leaves Liverpool looking like the strongest candidate to sign Leoni – but an agreement is far from guaranteed. Although Parma are a selling club and can have their arm twisted, they do not want to lose Leoni if they can avoid it, while some reports suggest that the player would prefer to stay put in order to assure himself first-team football next season.
Still, Liverpool’s interest means that a deal is more likely than it has been at any other point over the past few weeks – and Arne Slot could so be able to call upon a remarkably talented young player who plays with a maturity and calmness that belies his years.