Depth: Liverpool digs the future pillar of Italy and turns him into a local player

Giovanni Leoni is already on the plane for a physical examination at Anfield. The central defender is 193CM tall and was only 18 years old on December 21, 2006. His Serie A appearance record is even worse than his age - only 17 times. Why is it worth Liverpool’s immediate auction of 35 million euros to grab him, and even if he is not renting to level up, but is immediately included in the first team system? Sohu Sports will take you to learn about this young man from several different angles:

Sakhi praised him for the future pillar of the Italian national team, and angrily criticized the Serie A giants for not competing for

Italian legendary coach Sakhi wrote a column for the "Milan Sports" and expressed his own views on Giovanni Leoni's transfer:

"I am very happy that an Italian player has received the admiration of a big club like Liverpool, but I would rather AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus or Naples compete for his transfer than let him join a foreign club.

Someone told me that Italian clubs do not have the financial resources of British clubs. . This is completely correct, but I must add that why football is not developed in Italy as well as in the UK? Why is it so complicated for an Italian giant to buy a defender worth 40 million euros, and Liverpool is fearless and backfireful?

We will wait and see the final conclusion of the deal, but anyway, I would say that the signing of the Reds would be a great deal, and I was full of interest and curiosity in the second half of last season.

I believe he will be a key figure in the Italian national team's defense for a long time.

Some people talk about him It is always mentioned that this young man has only played in Serie A 17 times so far, and my answer to this is that this is not a small amount, because in these 17 games, Leoni has fully demonstrated the excellent qualities needed to go further.

The excellence of a player and the clear mind of a player are all obvious. A person can participate in 200 Serie A games, but still does not have the qualities that Leoni showed in his first season of adulthood. Talents are regardless of age and experience.

Of course, we also have to give him the chance to make mistakes. He is still 18 years old, and it is almost expected to make mistakes, and it is forgivable that he will make mistakes. .

Overall, he is a strong man. He has learned the most basic lesson, keep a low profile and work hard. "

"German Transfer" Serie A experts analyze Leoni's advantages and disadvantages

"Transfer Market" has given Leoni the title of "New Cannavaro". Of course, among some fans, they also call him "New Nesta", so you can feel his potential. Although the 18-year-old and 17 appearances make him still a relatively unknown person in the football world, for anyone who carefully observes Serie A, Leoni has many qualities, indicating that his many will grow up to be an excellent central defender.

Leoni was born in Rome and then went to Chitadera and joined Padua's youth team. In March 2023, a few months after his 16th birthday, he was given the opportunity to debut in a professional arena. In February 2024, he was loaned to Sampdoria and played 9 games on behalf of the team. In June 2024, Samp signed him permanently for 1.5 million euros, but Parma snatched him from Samp for 4.8 million euros just two months later. Maybe he is still young, but this legendary transfer is enough to illustrate some problems.

Leoni performed very well in his first season at Parma. He played in 17 games for Parma, including 14 starts and 1 goal. His value in "German Transformation" soared from 13.2 million euros to 18 million euros. He is currently the third most expensive central defender in Italy's U21, behind Atlanta's Scalvini (21 years old, worth 35 million euros) and Fiorentina's Komuzo (20 years old, 25 million euros).

It is conceivable that as he joins Liverpool with a transfer fee of 35 million euros, his German turnover price will soar again, which may make him the Italian team's number one young talent in this position.

Serie A expert Luciano of "Transfer Market" highly praised him, and like Sachi, he called him the future of the Italian national team: "Govanni Leoni is one of the most promising players in Italian football. He is a qualified starter in the national team in the future. He will maintain the long-term prosperity of the Italian defensive academy."

When analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the players, Luciano said: "Although Leoni has amazing potential, he is far from reaching the perfect finished position. Leoni has very amazing athletic ability and has incredible physical fitness. He is very high, but he is still very fast and can complete long-distance running well, but there is still room for further improvement in this regard."

"Leoni's real advantage lies in his understanding of the game, his position selection and predictions are rare among players of the same age. As well as his attention to physical confrontation during the game, he will make full use of his advantages in this area and will not have too many fouls."

Regarding what Leoni needs to improve, Luciano added: "During Zivo's administration, Parma was not known for its defense, and Leoni was not really asked to play from defense. He has the traits of outstanding in this field, but he must continue to improve his passing ability, because if he wants to be the top defender in modern football, this is an indispensable skill that any young defender needs to be honed and improved.. ”

The Echo explains in detail why Liverpool did not rent him back to Parma

Given that Leoni is too young, there have been many reports that Liverpool will follow the previous Mamaldashvili after introducing him, and put it in Parma for another year before taking it to his own use. However, the famous reporter Romano clearly opposed this statement, insisting that Liverpool will immediately start Leoni, and the expert of "Echo" Theo Squires Then explain in detail why this is - everything is for the quota of local players!

Liverpool's double center back targets are Leoni and Crystal Palace captain Gee. What most people are very clear is that Gee has a local player status, commonly known as a household registration book, which is a very "premium" thing in the English football world. But few people can calculate that Leoni can also become a "local player", thereby further increasing the tolerance of the roster for Liverpool.

Slott's first team currently has 6 local players: Joe Gomez, Bradley, Curtis Jones, Elliott, Woodman and Flynnpoon. If Guy is successfully introduced, he It will add 1 local player, and Leoni's arrival will also offer the same possibility - the Italian is currently only 18 years old, so he is still young enough to qualify as a local player in English football.

To qualify in the Premier League, players must register for 3 seasons or 36 months at any club under the FA or Wales club before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season).

After joining Liverpool this summer, Leoni will be awarded the status of "England Home Player" at the end of his third season for Anfield. Until then, he will ignore it All of this, because he will be classified as a U21 player.

At the same time, in the European game, the situation is even better. He can even obtain the status of "club training players", which requires the player to have three full seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21. Or if Liverpool chooses to loan him to another club under the same association (FFA), he can obtain the status of "British training players".

A noteworthy detail is that although the teenager is qualified as a U21 player in the Premier League and does not need to be registered on the list, this is a complete European game in the European game. Different stories.

To obtain a position on the "B List (U21)" in the European Games, players must play for Liverpool for two consecutive years and register for two consecutive years, or be loaned for no more than one year for three consecutive years. Therefore, if Liverpool wants to include Leoni in their Champions League squad, they will still include him among the 25 players on the A List this season and next season.

The consequence of this is that in the 2027-28 season he will qualify for the B List (U21) so as not to occupy the A List, and then in the 2028-29 season, he will be the "club-training player".