Who is Giovanni Leoni? Liverpool’s likely new teenage defender is a phenom who shined at Parma in Serie A

Liverpool signs the Italian center Giovanni Leoni from Parma. The reimbursement for the 18-year-old is around $ 30 million and his youth, and novelty in the upper echelons of the game means that his name might be new to many fans.

The Reds were looking for a young talented defender who could join the line of defense led by team captain Virgil van Dijk. Leoni, who becomes 19 at the end of the current year 19, is considered one of the best talents in Europe, but also played only 17 games in the first level of Italian football last season in Parma, where he became an important player in the last part of the season when the current Intercoach Cristian Chivu took the lead of the Crociati, who led the team to Natage. There are many questions about Leoni and why Liverpool decided to sign him this summer. Although this signing from one side shows the financial potential of the Premier League teams again, it raises more questions about how the Italian clubs work and how they tend not to invest in domestic players, even when their potential was under everyone’s eyes, as it happened to Leoni this summer.

Who is Giovanni Leoni?

Leoni werd geboren in Rome op 21 december 2006 en begon zijn voetbalcarrière in de jeugdsector van Padova, waar hij zijn professionele debuut maakte tijdens het seizoen 2022-23 in de Italiaanse Derde Divisie (Serie C) en vervolgens verhuisde naar Sampdoria in januari 2024 waar hij begon te spelen onder manager Andrea Pirlo in de tweede divisie, hem een team voor de club in de zomer in de zomer 2024 begon te spelen in de zomer 2024 In the summer of 2024 in January 2024 in the summer of 2024. On November 2024, Under Former Parma Manager Fabio Pecchia, Leoni Played his first series A Match, But then Became a Crucial Player Under Chivu in the Second Part of the Season Teams and experimental Strikers, Such as the 2-2 Draw Against Lautaro Martinez’s Inter, the 1-0 Win Against Dusan Vlahovic ‘Juventus and the 0-0 Draw in Parma Against Napoli and Romelu Lukaku. As Leoni’s performances improved, these matches caught the attention of large teams in Europe, because he could defend himself against the stars of Italian football.

Leoni’s passing skill was excellent in his first Serie A season, because he fits on average 46.3 per 90 minutes in the Serie A last season with an 88.7% Pass -Succe percentage, in third place players with more than ten games. He can also play with both feet and can also play from behind as the defenders of the Arne Slot team are often asked. His area duel figures are also incredible, because he won 63% in the competition, the highest among U-20 players in Europe’s top five competitions last season.

Leoni showed that he could improve the game after the game, as his former coach Chivu recently underlined when he was asked about possible interest in Inter this summer. Speaking of him and inter -striker Francesco Pio Esposito, Chivu said: “At a human level they are both incredible. In my opinion they will be the future of Italian football, and I think you would like to watch journalists in the Italian national team.

Liverpool had a player like he needed to allow Slot more rotation in the defense, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate expected to be the starting players, the injuries of Joe Gomez and the departure of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, LiVERPOOL WAS NEMENTENTED FOR H. Were 30 million on the head if they had to be, even if they are more than $ 30 million of what would be what would be, even if there could be more, even if they were more than $ 30 million under the leadership of their defensive schedule, even if they are more than the

Who wanted to sign him this summer?

There is also a question why the big Italian clubs were not willing to pay $ 30 million to sign Leoni this summer. First of all, it is clear that the move to Liverpool to play is his first choice, and he preferred it above another Italian club. Nevertheless, despite the interest of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter, none of them has really put forward to sign him this summer. Again, Italian clubs have shown a reluctance to invest in young Italian talent, instead they choose to allocate their budgets for more experienced players, often overlooked prospects in favor of short -term options. The two Milan teams in particular have shown this in recent weeks. AC Milan needed a center to replace Malick Thiaw who was at Newcastle at Newcastle, while Inter The 2025-26 season starts with the same 33-year-old Stefan de Vrij and Francesco Acerbi that will be 38 next year. So both teams needed a BEW Young Defender for various reasons, but neither of them was willing to publish what Parma asked to sell Leoni.

It is difficult to say whether this decision is purely for financial reasons, but it is definitely a blow to Italian football to lose a young talent abroad. Hopefully Leoni will use this opportunity to become an important player for the Italian national team, by growing into an even stronger player by competing with the Premier League champions of 2024-25.