Club CEO confirms new Liverpool signing was approached by Newcastle United
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Image Credits: Imago ImagesLiverpool completed the most expensive transfer window in football history this past summer, spending a staggering £446.5 million that surpassed Chelsea’s previous record of £400 million set in 2023.
The Reds’ unprecedented investment was capped by Alexander Isak’s British record £125 million deadline day move from Newcastle United, marking the second time Liverpool broke their transfer record in a single window.
The spending spree had already begun by then with Florian Wirtz’s £116 million arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, followed by Hugo Ekitike for £69 million from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Liverpool also secured full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong for a combined £69.5 million, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili cost £25 million and Giovanni Leoni arrived for £26 million.
Despite the record outlay, Liverpool’s shrewd player sales totalling £187 million meant their net spend of £228 million was actually lower than Arsenal’s £246 million.
Key departures included Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich for £60 million, Darwin Nunez to Al Hilal for £46.2 million, and academy graduates Jarell Quansah and Ben Doak commanding fees of £30 million and £20 million respectively.
Parma CEO Federico Cherubini has now revealed that Newcastle United was very keen on Giovanni Leoni – and even submitted an offer that was better than Liverpool’s.
However, Leoni wanted to make the move to Anfield instead:
“I’ve always said we wanted to keep him, and he’s always said he’d be happy to stay here,” Cherubini said to Gazzetta di Parma.
“We even turned down an offer from Newcastle, which was more advantageous than the one Liverpool eventually made,”
“When the Reds came forward, our plans changed: both because the offer was very attractive and because the player made it clear he was very happy to take advantage of this opportunity.”
“On the one hand, it’s disappointing to lose such a promising young player, but on the other, we’re proud to have believed in him in unsuspecting times, when he’d only played a few games in Serie B.”
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.
He is yet to make his Liverpool debut having made the bench vs Newcastle United and Arsenal.
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