The Inter Milan star would be a great addition in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield rebuild this summer
Liverpool have held a long-term interest in Nicolo Barella and now a new update has emerged on the club’s pursuit of their target during the summer transfer window.
What’s the latest on Liverpool’s interest in Nicolo Barella?
According to Italian news outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport (via 90min), Liverpool are leading the race to sign the Inter Milan midfielder.
As per the report, the Reds are currently defeating Manchester United and Chelsea in the battle to secure Barella’s signature this summer.
In another report from The Independent, Miguel Delaney has confirmed that Liverpool remain interested in signing the player, but suitors will need to meet the Serie A giants’ valuation of their asset which is reported to be £80m.
Should Liverpool sign Nicolo Barella?
The midfield rebuild at Anfield has got off to a great start with former Brighton and Hove Albion star Alexis Mac Allister signing up for Jurgen Klopp’s project on a long-term deal.
However, there is still plenty of work to be done to get Liverpool back competing for Champions League football and winning trophies again, so the signing of another player with a winning mentality would be massively advantageous.
Barella has earned a number of accolades over his career so far, winning a Serie A title, two Italian Cups, two Italian Super Cups and sealing a Euros triumph with Italy. Meanwhile, more recently, he reached the Champions League final in Istanbul earlier this month.
Should FSG sanction the move for the Serie A star this summer it could be the arrival at Anfield that further pushes Henderson out of the first team to start a new chapter in the centre of the pitch.
When comparing Barella’s output with the Liverpool captain last season, the Italian outperformed his positional peer in a number of key attributes including goal contributions (12 v 2), progressive passes (214 v 189), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.17 v 3.13), take-on success rate (57.1% v 52.2%) and aerial duels won (57.1% v 52.4%).
The 26-year-old – dubbed a “warrior” by Antonio Conte – possesses diverse strengths in midfield from ball-winning to creativity making him the perfect player to succeed Henderson in the Liverpool team, with his experience in Europe and clear determination to win trophies a huge boost for the future of Liverpool’s potential success too.
The Liverpool boss has already made his feelings clear about Barella’s quality, with Klopp reserving praise for the Inter Milan ace in a press conference when their two sides met in Europe:
“He’s a really good player, a really good player and I like him a lot. He has all the things you want from a midfield player: he is aggressive, he is technical, he can run for ages and all these kinds of things. That’s a top-class player.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Liverpool to snap up the services of the midfielder this summer as he could significantly improve the work rate in midfield and ultimately replace Henderson in one of the most important roles on the pitch.
