A general view of Liverpool's Anfield stadium. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
A general view of Liverpool's Anfield stadium. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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Liverpool have agreed their next summer signing.
The Reds are set to bolster their centre-back options with the arrival of Giovanni Leoni. The 18-year-old enjoyed a magnificent 2024-25 at Italian side Parma as he helped them seal their Serie A status after promotion. Leoni played 17 times for Parma, scoring one goal and a highlight performance was a 0-0 draw with champions Napoli.
Liverpool have been keen to boost their options after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for up to £35 million. In addition, sporting direction Richard Hughes has been keen to add a young centre-back to the squad, having missed out on Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid earlier this summer.
Liverpool will pay up to £30 million for Leoni. Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg posted on X: “Full verbal agreement was reached, as revealed today. Negotiations between the clubs were also advanced. Agreement with Parma is now also complete for a €35m deal, as per @FabrizioRomano. The super-talented 18 y/o centre-back joins #LFC with immediate effect. A rising Italian star now heading to Liverpool. He was a new and surprising target, as exclusively revealed a few days ago.”
The Times suggests that Premier League rivals Manchester United and Newcastle United displayed late interest in Leoni. However, Leoni is keen on a move to the English champions where he will learn from Virgil van Dijk.
The teenager is likely to be fourth choice upon his arrival at Anfield behind Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez. However, Konate is out of contract at the end of the season and reports have suggested he’s open to a move to Real Madrid. Gomez, meanwhile, has suffered injury problems in recent years and is on the comeback from an Achilles problem.
Liverpool are also eyeing a move for Marc Guehi, who is out of contract at Crystal Palace next year. The 25-year-old is an established Premier League peformer, captaining Palace to the FA Cup for the first time last season. He was also skipper as the Eagles beat Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield last weekend.
However, Palace chairman Steve Parish has admitted that the club would be open to a sale rather than risk losing Guehi on a free.
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