New Liverpool medical looks imminent as Sky confirm Reds reach ‘full verbal agreement’…

A new medical for Liverpool appears to be on the horizon as Sky confirms that the Reds have reached a ‘full verbal agreement’.

Liverpool is nearing a permanent transfer for Parma’s highly-rated young centre-back, Giovanni Leoni.

This information comes from Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany, who reports that the 18-year-old is eager to join Arne Slot’s team ‘immediately’.

Liverpool is progressing towards the summer transfer of Giovanni Leoni.

There were valid concerns in some circles that after a strong start to the summer transfer window, Liverpool might find themselves lacking in several areas.

Excellent acquisitions to strengthen the fullback positions – including deals for Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong – have underscored how thin we currently are at centre-back following Jarell Quansah’s transfer to Leverkusen.

Similarly, in the attacking front, the exits of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz have left Liverpool with just three senior forwards.

Nevertheless, the club is now aiming to address the former concern. Florian Plettenberg has reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the Premier League champions have ‘reached a full verbal agreement’ with Leoni.

Moreover, it is believed that a deal with the club is also ‘close’. As Ben Jacobs notes (referencing TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook), we could finalize the transfer within the next 24 hours.

What motivates Liverpool to pursue Leoni?

Liverpool has shown interest in Leoni and is among several contenders from the Italian top league following a promising start to his senior career.

The potential acquisition of Guehi, if an agreement can be reached, will provide the depth we urgently need.

However, we are realistic that the England international, as talented as he is, cannot be considered a true successor to Virgil van Dijk.

The hope in that specific area may very well rest with Parma’s towering 6′ 5″ defender, Giovanni Leoni.

He has already garnered attention for his exceptional skill on the ball, demonstrating an ability to penetrate defenses with his passing. The Italian has also shown considerable prowess when out of possession, successfully winning a significant number of his duels both on the ground and in the air.

However, there remains potential for enhancement in this area, as indicated by the statistics from DataMB.

Let us allow Serie A’s most promising young defender the necessary time to develop.

It is important to highlight that we are acquiring a player who has only made 17 senior appearances – significantly below the 150 or so that our recruitment team typically seeks.

Leoni will be entering a new league and environment with limited experience, thus requiring ample time and support to achieve the level of success we aspire for him in his football career.