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Less than two weeks after securing a £26 million ($35 million) transfer to Liverpool from Parma, 19-year-old defender Giovanni Leoni received his first call-up to the Italian national team.
Leoni appeared in only 17 Serie A games for Parma last season and has yet to see the pitch for the Reds. Still, this was enough to earn a spot in new manager Gennero Gattuso's team.
Hugo Ekitike, who joined Liverpool for over a deal rising up to £79 million ($106 million), has scored in each of his first three games. He wasn't as lucky as Leoni: he was bypassed in French manager Didier Deschamps' squad in favor of Marcus Thuram (30 caps, two goals), Maghres Aklouche, and a slew of other dominant wingers.
Leoni has plenty of Italian competition for playing time, including Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Federico Gatti (Juventus), and Gianluca Mancini (Roma).
Gattuso inherits an Italian side languishing in third in their 2026 UEFA World Cup qualifying group after a 3-0 loss to Norway. The Azzuri's next fixture is a road contest — held on a neutral turf in Debrecen, Hungary — against Israel.
Former AC Milan and Italian national team manager Arrigo Sacchi claimed this summer that Leoni would one day be "the linchpin on the Azzuri defense."
"Some, regarding a possible transfer to Liverpool, object that this young man has only made 17 Serie A appearances so far," he wrote in Gazzetta dello Sport. "Aren’t those few? No, I reply. Not few, because on those occasions Leoni has demonstrated the qualities needed to go far."
"If someone is good, if someone has their head in the right place, it’s immediately obvious. A person can have 200 Serie A games under their belt and still not possess the qualities Leoni displayed in his first season as an adult. Talent knows no age.”
Leoni has seemed to settle in well with Liverpool. In his introductory Q&A with the Reds, he admitted he wants "to improve" in his first year and his admiration for center back Virgil van Dijk.
"For me, he is the best defender in the world and I want to meet him [as soon as] possible," Leoni said of the Liverpool captain. "His personality is fantastic when he plays; he is so comfortable with the ball and without the ball. He is a leader."
Leoni will likely deputize Van Dijk and fellow defender Ibrahima Konate when the Reds host Arsenal on Sunday.
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