According to the transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool has reached an agreement to recruit center -back Giovanni Leoni from Parma.
On the personal page X, Romano posted the familiar “Here We Go” mantra, the deal was finished. Specifically, Liverpool will pay Parma 35 million euros with a resale term. The 18 -year -old star will stay in the first team Liverpool instead of leaving in the form of borrowing.
The Leoni deal took place in parallel with the effort to recruit Marc Guehi from Liverpool's Crystal Palace, when Slot coach wanted to strengthen the defense in the context of only three good central defenders in the squad. The Reds judged that the 18 -year -old center -back was one of the best young talents in Europe in its position.
Liverpool sports director Richard Hughes, who had a negotiation with Parma CEO, Federico Cherubini, on Wednesday to close the deal. Leoni launched the first team Padova in Serie C in March 2023 when he was 16 years old 3 months, becoming the youngest professional player playing in Italy that season.
In February next year, he joined Sampdoria (Serie B) on loan and impressed in the second half of the season 2023/24, before the club bought it in June 2024. Just two months after signing a long -term contract with Sampdoria, Leoni continued to step up a new ladder with joining Parma in August 2024.
Last season, this young talent played 17 times (14 main kicks) in Serie A, contributing to help Parma relegated at 16. Leoni played the U19 Italian U19 team and also contracted with Parma until the summer of 2029. Liverpool has searched for additional defense since the sale of Jarell Quandah to Leverkusen last month, and Leoni was chosen.
The Premier League champions have had a busy summer with the Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong contracts from Leverkusen, Hugo Ekitike from Frankfurt and Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, while maintaining the interest in Newcastle's Alexander Isak.
In the future, Giovanni Leoni is expected to replace Virgil Van Dijk – who is 34 years old – as the leader of Liverpool.