Parma defender Giovanni Leoni has signed for Liverpool, taking their summer transfer spend over £300m.
Liverpool will pay a fee of £26m plus add-ons for the 18-year-old, who has signed a six-year contract and becomes the club’s sixth major signing, with their business now totalling £321.5m in paid transfer fees so far.
That is currently the third-biggest transfer outlay from a Premier League club in a single window.
If Liverpool complete a deal to sign Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, which could cost well above £100m, then the Reds could become the biggest summer transfer spenders of all time.
Liverpool, though, have recouped over £200m this summer by selling seven players for fees, including £65m for Luis Diaz, £56.6m for Darwin Nunez and £35m for Jarell Quansah.
The Reds saw off competition from elite Italian clubs and Premier League sides for Leoni, who was adamant his choice was a move to Arne Slot’s Premier League champions.
Leoni will join the first-team set-up for this season, with any suggestion of a loan move completely ruled out. He will attend Liverpool’s season opener at Anfield against Bournemouth, live on Sky Sports.
Liverpool were targeting reinforcements at centre-back following the departure of Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, with Ibrahima Konate entering the final year of his deal at Anfield.
What is the latest on Guehi?
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Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol and Dharmesh Sheth discuss whether Liverpool will complete the signing of Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi this summer.
Liverpool remain in talks for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and are favourites to sign the England international.
The question is whether they can negotiate a fee now or wait to sign him as a free agent next summer. Palace value Guehi at £40m.
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Speaking on the Transfer Talk Podcast, Henry Winter suggests staying at Crystal Palace would be the best option for Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze’s hopes of playing at the World Cup for England
Sky Sports News previously reported there was a gap in valuation between the two Premier League sides.
Palace will not let their captain go on the cheap and Liverpool know they can wait until next summer to sign him on a free transfer.
If the situation does not change, it looks likely as things stand that Guehi will stay at Crystal Palace and leave on a free transfer next summer.
In
Milos Kerkez – Bournemouth, £40m
Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen, £116m
Jeremie Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen, £29.5m
Giorgi Mamardashvili – Valencia, £29m
Hugo Ekitike – Eintracht Frankfurt, £79m
Armin Pecsi – Puskas Akademia, £1.5m
Freddie Woodman – Preston, free
Giovanni Leoni – Parma, £26m
Out
Darwin Nunez – Al Hilal, £56.6m
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Real Madrid, £10m
Caoimhin Kelleher – Brentford, £18m
Jarell Quansah – Bayer Leverkusen, £35m
Luis Diaz – Bayern Munich, £65m
Tyler Morton – Lyon, £15m
Nat Phillips – West Brom, £3m
Vitezslav Jaros – Ajax, loan
Owen Beck – Derby, loan
Luca Stephenson – Dundee United, loan
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games this season
215 live premier league matches up from 128 this season on Sky Sports
From this season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season will be on Sky Sports.
