Tottenham Hotspur have made it a priority to bring in a defender this summer, but Daniel Levy has continued to back his ‘sign them young’ transfer strategy given the Lilywhites’ pursuit of Parma wonderkid Giovanni Leoni. The 18-year-old has established his presence as one of the best Serie A prospects since his move to Parma from Sampdoria in the previous summer transfer window.
And he has pulled up the first team shirt 17 times for his current employers whilst contributing to one goal in the process. Most of his appearances came in the second half of the season, showing how he established his presence on the roster overtime.
His potential has not gone unnoticed as a bunch of Premier League clubs enter the race to secure his signature, with Chelsea and Liverpool the leading names alongside Tottenham. But these three are just numbers, given that there are up to 10 English top-tier clubs interested in his signatures.
Injury risk raised with Leoni
Tottenham are interested in signing Parma star Giovanni Leoni in the summer.
Tottenham are interested in signing Parma star Giovanni Leoni in the summer.
But there has been a sense of injury concerns with him given his injury in the concluding weeks of the previous campaign. And while speaking about this, injury expert Dr Brar insists that Tottenham will have to add a layer of scrutiny in his medical to see if there are any persisting issues with regard to his injury problems.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Tottenham News, he said:
“Spurs may take a closer look at the injury that ended his 2024/25 season to see how he is progressing and if there are any outlier issues with it.
“At his age, given the lack of senior experience, it may also take him longer to adapt to life in the Premier League.
“I do not see him being a regular starter for the first few months and this seems to be more of a long-term pursuit.”
Its a calculated move that Levy needs to make here…
At 6ft 5in he does look like a promising talent, but then we need to make sure that there are no injury risks which can keep him on the sidelines for an extended period of time given how Tottenham are trying to develop these teenage talents into their potential of late.
While we don’t expect him to play at Hotspur Way from the get-go, we need to remember that there is still a possible exit risk with Cristian Romero, and Radu Dragusin is touch and go with injuries. If push came to shove and he ended up being the only centre-back through the doors, he may be thrown into the far end if such a situation arises. So Daniel Levy and his team need to be wary of the potential immediate as well as long-term risks of signing him.
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