Liverpool: Klopp could forget about Mount with Barella
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is interested in signing Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella this summer but will have to part with a lucrative sum in order to prise him away from Simone Inzaghi’s outfit.
What’s the latest on Nicolo Barella to Liverpool?
That’s according to Calciomercato, who state that the Reds are considering a swoop for their midfield general alongside Alexis Mac Allister, who has agreed personal terms with Liverpool and is expected to join next month.
The stumbling block, the Italian outlet claims, is that Inter will demand €100m (£87m) for the 26-year-old, which could hinder hopes of a transfer given Mac Allister is expected to sign for as much as £70m.
Earlier reports state that Barella is searching for a new project after years of servitude at San Siro, and with Klopp’s team in need of rejuvenation, he could be the man to return Anfield to former vigour.
Should Liverpool sign Nicolo Barella?
Barella is not the most defence-centric midfielder in the game, which is an area Liverpool are ostensibly looking to bolster, but he is one of Europe’s superlative maestros with a robust progressive presence.
He is a tremendous conductor and can operate in the half-spaces with aplomb while also surging into the final third to affect the game with his crisp and intelligent short passing, hailed as a “genius” by reporter Mike Piellucci.
Despite the lofty fee touted for the £155k-per-week star’s name, he would be the ideal man to displace rumours of the Reds’ intrigue in Chelsea’s wantaway ace Mason Mount, with Arsenal and Manchester United also in the race for the England international, with his outfit demanding a staggering £85m sum for his signature.
With similar fees being touted for Barella and the Blues gem, dipping into Serie A might be the more auspicious route for the Merseyside outfit, with the 43-cap Italian ranking among the top 7% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 11% for shot-creating actions, the top 20% for progressive passes and the top 11% for progressive carries per 90.
Barella is listed as Mount’s most comparable midfield confrere on FBref, and with the dynamo at the epicentre of Chelsea’s woes this term – the 12th-placed Premier League club endured a miserable 22/23 campaign and require major surgery this summer – opting for the phenom leading his side to a Champions League final might indeed be the better way to secure success.
Barella is, after all, a “sensational” centre-midfielder – as hailed by one tactical writer – and a signing of his ilk could spearhead a renaissance on Merseyside next year that might just conclude with a new slice of silverware.