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Arne Slot has shared his thoughts on Giovanni Leoni’s start to life at Liverpool following his arrival from Parma last week.

The Reds secured the 18-year-old defender for a reported £26million plus add-ons.

The Italy Under-19 centre-back began his career at Padova before spending a brief period at Sampdoria, ultimately joining Parma last summer.

Leoni featured in 17 Serie A matches during his debut season, attracting interest from both Milan clubs, but has chosen to take his first step abroad.

Captain Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate were Liverpool’s only fit senior central defenders for the Community Shield loss.

With Van Dijk now 34, the Reds must plan for the future.

Giovanni Leoni certainly fits that profile, and despite only breaking into Parma’s starting line-up in the second half of last season, he already looks ready to make an impact.

The Italy U19 international has seamlessly integrated into training with Liverpool’s senior squad at the AXA Training Centre.

“He is a good-looking guy, as [with] most Italians.

He has trained with us three times now I think,” said Slot during his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“If you look at his transfer fee, you can expect that he is already quite grown up for his age – and that’s exactly what I saw.

“He comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new teammates as if he is here for longer?

Impressive; if you look at how tall he is, fast, comfortable on the ball.

“Yeah, there’s a reason why we paid the transfer fee we did, because we see him as a bright prospect.

And he had already three good sessions.

“It also tells you something about the team