Their new Trent: FSG’s key target flying to sign for Liverpool on Thursday
Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth looms large, and for a club that typically shows plenty of restraint in the transfer market, it’s curious to see so many fresh faces.
And there are more yet to come.
After winning the Premier League with relative ease last season, Arne Slot has strengthened his attack with fast-rising striker Hugo Ekitike and a new playmaker in Florian Wirtz, who is considered one of the most exciting talents in world football.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has left for Real Madrid, the 31-year-old Andy Robertson has lost a yard and Kostas Tsimikas is edging toward an Anfield exit, so adding Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong to the defensive flanks has perhaps reinforced the widths for years to come.
Led by Richard Hughes, this summer’s approach feels very different, but it’s unlikely to be the new normal. Undergoing a period of transformation, the Merseysiders are laying the foundations for a new era, and there are still several stunning deals which may be completed.
Liverpool planning for more signings
The interminable pursuit of Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak continues. Liverpool desperately want the striker; the Magpies desperately don’t want him to leave. Isak, for what it’s worth, is perhaps the most desperate of them all, so intent on joining Slot’s squad this summer.
It all hinges on Newcastle signing replacements, which will need to be found in the aggregate, rather than just one new goalscorer.
Liverpool have already seen an initial £110m offer rejected by Eddie Howe’s side, but with the Sweden international refusing to reintegrate into the Tyneside squad, it’s clear that Liverpool stand more than a swinging chance of getting it done before the end of the month.
Elsewhere, talks continue for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, who would be the perfect man to complete Virgil van Dijk’s backline.
However, there are plenty of variables at play with that one, with conflicting reports leaving the jury out.
Though Liverpool want the England defender, the urgency has been tempered somewhat by the completion of another deal for a rising talent destined for the top.
Key target travelling to Merseyside
As confirmed by Sky Sports, Liverpool have agreed a deal with Serie A side Parma for the transfer of centre-back Giovanni Leoni, who is slated to arrive for an initial £26m fee.
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And Fabrizio Romano has since informed the masses that the 18-year-old is on his way to Merseyside for a medical, with the player and his agent set to be in Liverpool today.
Despite competition from the Premier League and various Italian clubs, Liverpool have succeeded in winning the battle for the sought-after defender, who has made the brave decision to leave his homeland while still in the fledgling stage of his career.
Why Liverpool are signing Giovanni Leoni
Such a prodigious defensive talent eases the woes from the failed bid to sign Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth in May, the 20-year-old instead signing for Real Madrid.
It also provides Slot with his own version of Alexander-Arnold, who also emerged onto the scene as a youngster, so clearly cut from expensive cloth when Jurgen Klopp watched him curl a free-kick over the wall and into the back of Hoffenheim’s net in 2017, thus starting a remarkable journey to the apex of the game.
Though Trent’s decision to leave Liverpool for Los Blancos at the end of his contract last season left a bitter taste in fans’ mouths, there’s no denying the 25-year-old is one of the greatest Redmen in modern history, having played 354 matches for his boyhood club, scoring 23 goals, providing 94 assists and winning the whole gamut.
In any case, he will be missed, for his playmaking abilities stretch beyond what is expected or even conceivable for defenders to have within their locker.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
254
64
Andy Robertson
302
60
Leighton Baines
420
53
Graeme le Saux
327
44
Antonio Valencia
325
39
Liverpool’s staggering summer spending has eased his departure, that and winning last year’s Premier League title, but in Leoni, Slot could land his answer to the all-inspiring right-back, landing a talented defender with hype around his name at such an early stage.
Leoni, despite only breaking into Parma’s first team last season, has earned a reputation for his strong protective ability and his expansive technical game.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig has already declared him to be “one of the most complete teenage centre-backs in Europe”, and having started 14 Serie A games last season, all of which came from November and beyond, he’s clearly established himself as a reliable option in Italy.
Indeed, he completed 89% of his passes and won 63% of his aerial battles in the Italian top-flight last year, emphasising a precocious understanding and reading of the game.
Moreover, the 6 foot 5 sensation has an aggressiveness and progressiveness to his game, which allows him to step beyond what is required for someone of his position.
In this way, he could actually serve as the symbolic successor to Alexander-Arnold’s position at Liverpool, joining the manager’s Slot in its infancy. If a bit more substance is needed, Leoni also played three matches as a makeshift right-back last season, further underlining his athleticism and capacity to succeed.
While Liverpool still hope to sign Guehi before the end of the month, it’s clear that Leoni has what it takes to become a superstar of a defender, and he might just reach the heights and the success on Merseyside to establish himself as Slot’s answer to Alexander-Arnold.
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