Who is Giovanni Leoni? Liverpool's likely new teenage defender is a phenom who shined at Parma in Serie A

Liverpool are signing Italian center back Giovanni Leoni from Parma. The fee for the 18-year-old is around $30 million and his youth, and newness to the upper echelons of the game mean that his name might be new for many fans.

The Reds were looking for a young talented defender who could join the defensive line led by team captain Virgil van Dijk. Leoni, who will turn 19 at the end of the current year, is considered among the best talents around Europe but also only played 17 matches in the first tier of Italian soccer last season at Parma, where he became a key player in the last part of the season when the current Inter coach Cristian Chivu took charge of the Crociati, leading the team to avoid the relegation. There are many questions around Leoni and why Liverpool decided to sign him this summer. However, while from one side this signing is showing once again the financial potential of the Premier League teams, it raises more questions on how the Italian clubs work and how they tend to not invest on the domestic players even when their potential was under the eyes of everyone, as it happened again with Leoni this summer.

Who is Giovanni Leoni?

Leoni was born in Rome on December 21, 2006 and started his soccer career in the youth sector of Padova where he made his professional debut during the 2022-23 season in the Italian third division (Serie C) and then moved to Sampdoria in January 2024 where he started playing under manager Andrea Pirlo in the second division, making him a starter in his team before the club sold him to Parma in the summer 2024 for around $5 million. On November 2024, under former Parma manager Fabio Pecchia, Leoni played his first Serie A match, but then became a crucial player under Chivu in the second part of the season, when he showed some incredible performances against the big teams and experienced strikers, such as the 2-2 draw against Lautaro Martinez's Inter, the 1-0 win against Dusan Vlahovic' Juventus and the 0-0 draw in Parma against Napoli and Romelu Lukaku. As Leoni's performances improved, these matches caught the attention of big teams around Europe as he was able to defend against the stars of Italian soccer.

Leoni's passing proficiency was outstanding in his first Serie A season, as he averaged 46.3 passes per 90 minutes in Serie A last season with an 88.7% pass success rate, ranking third among Parma players with over ten matches played. He can also play with both feet, and can play from behind as well like the defenders of Arne Slot's team are often asked to do. His areal duel numbers are also incredible, as he won 63% in the league, the highest among U-20 players in Europe's top five leagues last season.

Leoni showed he was able to improve game after game, as his former coach Chivu underlined recently when he was asked about possible interest coming from Inter this summer. Speaking about him and Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito, Chivu said, "On a human level, they're both incredible. In my opinion, they'll be the future of Italian football, and I think you journalists will enjoy watching them in the Italian national team for a long time. For many years, they'll represent the Italian national football team."

Liverpool needed a player like him to allow Slot to have more rotation in the defense, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate expected to be the starting players, Joe Gomez's injuries and the departure of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool needed a young talented player for their defensive roster and Leoni was probably the best option they could find, even if they had to spend more than $30 million to sign what could be the

Who wanted to sign him this summer?

There is also a question of why the big Italian clubs were not willing to pay $30 million to sign Leoni this summer. First of all, it's clear that the move to Liverpool to play under Slot is his first choice, and he preferred it to any other Italian club. Even so, despite the interest coming from Juventus, AC Milan and Inter, none of them really pushed to sign him this summer. Once again, Italian clubs have demonstrated a reluctance to invest in young Italian talent, opting instead to allocate their budgets for more experienced players, often overlooking promising prospects in favor of short-term options. The two Milan teams in particular showed this over the last few weeks. AC Milan needed a center back to replace Malick Thiaw who joined Newcastle, while Inter are starting the 2025-26 season with the same 33-year old Stefan de Vrij and Francesco Acerbi who will turn 38 next year. So both teams needed a bew young defender for different reasons, but neither of them was willing to spend what Parma were asking to sell Leoni.

It's difficult to say whether this decision is purely from financial reasons, but it's definitely a blow for Italian soccer to lose another young talent abroad. Hopefully, Leoni will use this opportunity to become a key player for the Italian national team, growing into an even stronger player by competing with the 2024-25 Premier League champions.