Geovanni Leoni ACL injury fears may see Liverpool enter January transfer market for new centre-back

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Liverpool are awaiting news on the severity of Geovanni Leoni’s knee injury amid fears he could be set for a long spell on the sidelines.

The summer signing's Reds debut against Southampton in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night was cut short after an awkward fall.

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Leoni looked very impressive on his debut for Liverpool as fans looked on with awe at his coolness on the ball and under pressureCredit: Getty

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But the 18-year-old's game was cruelly ended up a serious injury in the second-halfCredit: Getty

It followed an assured debut by the 18-year-old, who joined Liverpool from Parma for £26m over the summer amid suggestions he is seen as a long-term successor to Virgil van Dijk.

But his promising display was cut short as the young Italian left the field on a stretcher before the Reds closed out a 2-1 victory to progress to the fourth round.

Sources in Italy have told talkSPORT there are fears Leoni has picked up an ACL injury, but tests are currently ongoing before Liverpool know his exact prognosis, with clarity expected at some point this week.

Liverpool can replace Leoni in their Champions League squad under new UEFA rules, and that could open the door to the inclusion of Federico Chiesa, who is determined to stay at Anfield and force his way into Arne Slot’s plans.

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Should Leoni face a long spell on the sidelines, Liverpool will have to assess their centre-back options ahead of the January window.

After missing out on Marc Guehi on deadline day, Liverpool were content with what the club consider to be four elite centre-backs.

Along with Leoni, Slot has captain Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez at his disposal.

As a result, Liverpool are not inclined to bid for Guehi in January, knowing the Palace captain is a free transfer next summer.

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But Liverpool could now be forced to explore another defender earlier than anticipated, although there is no guarantee they change their position on bidding for Guehi yet.

The first task is to wait on tests establishing how long Leoni will be out for, and then Liverpool’s recruitment team will decide whether another new centre-back is needed in January.

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Leoni was in huge distress as he was stretchered off against SouthamptonCredit: Getty

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Guehi is still on Liverpool's radar after failing to sign him over the summerCredit: Getty

After the win over Southampton, the Liverpool manager said further tests would need to be made to determine the severity of the defender's injury.

However, given the player's reaction on the field, he admitted it didn't look good.

"Of course, he is down because for him it didn't feel good immediately, but this is something now we have to assess," Slot told his post-match press conference at Anfield.

"Normally these things don't happen in five to ten minutes and you have to wait for tomorrow to see how he comes in and then maybe do an MRI scan to know more about how serious it is.

"Normally the emotions of a player tell you a lot.

I saw during the weekend a player in the Dutch Eredivisie who went out completely in tears - Ruben van Bommel, by the way, of PSV - and a day later it proved to be that it was right.

"Let's hope for the best."

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Slot was happy to go through in the Carabao Cup, but was sad for Leoni after the youngster's injury on his debutCredit: Getty

talkSPORT was told following Leoni's arrival at Anfield that they had landed a huge coup by winning the race for the teen star.

The Italian snubbed interest from as many as ten other Premier League clubs, including Newcastle and Tottenham, to complete his £26m Reds switch.

And Martin Semmens, the man who signed Van Dijk for Southampton and also oversaw Leoni's development as CEO of former club Parma, says he is the perfect long-term successor to their current captain.

"Yeah, absolutely for me [Leoni is the heir to the Van Dijk throne]," Semmens told Sam Matterface, Alex Crook and Troy Deeney.

"We signed him the second year I was there in the summer...

I told them he's as good as Virgil.

"Liverpool never called me, never asked for a reference, because they've got such an ability to find those players.

I've never seen anything like it - just literally knocked Lukaku over!

"So I think he's a top player...