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Liverpool has been very active in the summer transfer market this summer already, with Alexander Isak remaining on the agenda. But a defender should be high up on the priority list too.
During the double-header with Athletic Club on Monday, Arne Slot only had Ibrahima Konate to select of his senior center-backs. Virgil van Dijk was ill, Joe Gomez was injured, and Jarell Quansah has been sold to Bayer Leverkusen.
While Van Dijk is not going to miss many games through illness and Gomez's injury is thought only to be relatively minor, Liverpool needs to ensure that it has enough depth in that position. It can't afford to take any risks.
It is in that context that the Parma wonderkid Giovanni Leoni has been put forward as one option for sporting director Richard Hughes to consider.
According to The Times, he is one of a number of players that Liverpool has run the rule over recently. A more senior option would be Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi, though it remains to be seen how much the Selhurst Park side will demand for his signature.
Leoni, as a younger player, might also be more amenable to coming in as a back-up. Guehi, in a World Cup year, would have to accept that Van Dijk and Konate are the established duo right now.
In addition to the Reds and several Premier League clubs, Inter Milan appears to be the strongest side in for Leoni in Italy. AC Milan and Juventus, though, have also been credited with keeping an eye on his situation.
But Leoni idolises Virgil van Dijk, which could be a major advantage for Liverpool in any transfer pitch, and has been compared to Alessandro Bastoni.
As a teenager who has emerged in Serie A, there are also inevitable comparisons being made to the former Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, the Spaniard who joined Real Madrid this summer for a fee of around $66 million (£50 million).
Leoni is the son of two former professional water polo players, so he comes from a sporting background. And he has long been playing in an older age group than he should have been because of his talent.
For instance, he made his senior debut in the third tier in Italy at the age of just 16.
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"When the coach told me to step onto the pitch, I was a little nervous," he admitted. "But I was also happy because it was my dream. I never thought I'd make my first team debut at the beginning of the season; it all happened so quickly.
"The coach saw me play with the Under-17s, and I think he liked my attitude, the fact that I never had any airs or graces. I just try to train hard and always give 100 per cent."
After that season, he moved up a division to play for Andrea Pirlo at Sampdoria, where he excelled again. And it didn't take long for newly-promoted Parma to snap him up.
Shortly after making his debut, Pirlo said: "I am very happy for him. We are dealing with a fantastic boy and I was sure he would make it to Serie A. He deserves it."
Clearly, there is a major talent there to be further unlocked. Having played ahead of his years for all his life, the question now is which team is best suited to offering the next platform for success.
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