Image Credits: X/@@DiMarzio
Giovanni Leoni has been spotted en route to Liverpool FC.
Leoni has been given the green light to undergo his Liverpool medical today, with a £26 million transfer now fully agreed between the two clubs following talks concluded late on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old centre-back will link up with Arne Slot’s first-team squad straight away and is not expected to be loaned out.
The Italian’s rise has been nothing short of rapid.
He first emerged at Padova, breaking into senior football in March 2023 when he made his Serie C debut at just 16 years and three months old – the youngest professional player in Italy that season.
From there, things moved quickly.
A loan switch to Sampdoria in February 2024 turned into a permanent move just a few months later for €1.5 million.
Parma then swooped in that summer, paying €4 million to bring him to the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
In his first Serie A campaign, the towering young defender featured 17 times — starting 14 matches — as Parma battled to a 16th-place finish.
All told, Leoni has only 33 senior appearances to his name, but Liverpool’s decision to spend £26 million will not be unfounded.
That price tag works out to roughly half a million pounds for every Serie A game he’s played, a sign of just how highly young defensive talent is valued in the modern market.
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has shared a video of the soon-to-be Liverpool man travelling to Merseyside:
.@1913parmacalcio, Leoni in partenza per Liverpool pic.twitter.com/F5xUqhLURO
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) August 14, 2025
Meanwhile, Arne Slot confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Parma, saying in his pre-Bournemouth press conference:
“The clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn’t signed. The moment he signs I can go into more detail.”
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