Liverpool Still Interested in Serie A Star
Liverpool reportedly remain interested in Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella, although they will not consider a move unless the Italian club budges significantly from their asking price.
Whilst mentioning Newcastle as the player’s most likely destination, a report from The Independent also credited Liverpool with an interest, although both clubs consider Inter’s current pricetag of £80 million to be excessive.
Jurgen Klopp is believed to see Barella as a complementary option to recently-signed Alexis Mac Allister in the midfield. With the 26-year-old having been on the club’s radar for some time he is a player Klopp will be very familiar with, and the manager even admitted he was “really happy” Barella could not play a part in Liverpool’s clash with Inter in last year’s Champions League.
With a number of signings to fund this summer though, it is unlikely the club’s hierarchy will sanction a deal at anywhere close to the price Inter are asking, and even with a hefty reduction it remains likely that PIF-funded Newcastle will be in a position to pay more.
The Reds have a number of more affordable targets on their radar, such as OGC Nice’s Khephren Thuram and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Manu Kone. Considering the consensus is that Liverpool need another two midfielders and a defender in this window, one or both of the pair might seem like more sensible options.
Looking purely at the player’s qualities it is easy to see why we have kept tabs on Barella for years, but this appears to fall firmly into the rumour-mill camp with finances likely to make an Anfield switch unviable.