17 hours ago
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Italian football legend Arrigo Sacchi has voiced his frustration at the possibility of teenage center-back Giovanni Leoni making the switch to Liverpool.
However, the former Italy and AC Milan manager acknowledges that the Reds would be securing a "real talent" should they finalise negotiations with Parma for the 18-year-old.
Liverpool is poised to intensify its pursuit of Leoni as they seek to reshape their center-back alternatives following Jarell Quansah's departure to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer.
Italian media reports suggest the defender is receptive to the transfer, with Parma setting his price tag at €30 million ($35 million) plus add-ons.
The Reds have been scouring the market for a promising young center-back for numerous years and have previously seen their efforts to land Levi Colwill, Leny Yoro and Dean Huijsen come to nothing.
Yet they are now understood to have stolen a march on Inter Milan in the pursuit of Leoni, with Sacchi confessing he would rather this wasn't the situation.
"Liverpool would make a great signing, and he could thrive in the Premier League," he said. "It's a shame he's eluding the big clubs in Serie A. On the one hand, the news makes me immensely happy, and on the other, it makes me a little angry.
"Let me explain – I'm happy that an Italian player is receiving praise from a major club like Liverpool, but I wish AC Milan or Inter, Juventus or Napoli were competing for his transfer, not a foreign club.
"I'm told Italian teams don't have the same financial resources as English clubs. Absolutely true, but I add - why hasn't the football product been exploited here like in England? Why is it so complicated to buy a €40M ($46.8M) defender for an Italian club, and yet Liverpool doesn't flinch?"
Sacchi, penning his thoughts in his column for Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, continued: "We'll see if the deal goes through, but in any case, I feel like the Reds would make a great coup by securing this boy, whom I followed with curiosity and interest in the second half of last season.
"Leoni is only 18, and I'm told he's a decent guy, hard-working, humble, and very determined. Character is crucial in a footballer's career, as is temperament.
"If these two qualities are present, then the journey can proceed without any particular problems. It seems to me that Leoni is off to a good start: after all, if a major European club like Liverpool is persistently pursuing him, there must be a reason.
"We're dealing with a talent, there's no doubt about that."
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