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Highly rated young Parma defender Giovanni Leoni has completed his move to Liverpool (Image: Luca Amedeo Bizzarri/Getty Images)

Liverpool have completed the signing of Giovanni Leoni from Parma for an initial fee of £26m to take their summer spending to around £320m.

It's understood that Leoni, who will be in attendance at Anfield on Friday night when the Reds host Bournemouth, has penned a contract until 2031.

The 18-year-old centre-back will go straight into the first-team setup and the Premier League champions have no plans to loan out the Italian for the coming campaign.

Leoni made 17 appearances for Parma last season and had been wanted by a number of clubs in Italy, including Champions League finalists Inter, while there was also firm interest from Premier League sides including Newcastle United.

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New Inter coach Cristian Chivu had wanted to take Leoni with him from Parma but Liverpool stepped up their interest in recent days and sporting director Richard Hughes reached an agreement with his counterpart in Italy, Federico Chreubini, on Wednesday night.

It's thought that Hughes's sprawling contacts book in Italy and depth of knowledge of Serie A football enabled the Reds to steal a march on interested parties.

And, while Inter were said to be leading the race earlier this month, Liverpool stepped up their pursuit and have now landed the teenager.

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Leoni will go into the squad to compete for a place alongside Ibrahima Konate, club catapin Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, who is on the path back to fitness after an Achilles problem was discovered while on the Hong Kong leg of the pre-season tour of Asia.

The defender becomes the eighth signing of a busy summer of turnover at Anfield with talks taking place with Crystal Palace over captain Marc Guehi at the top of the week and Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak also someone who could still be the subject of transfer negotiations before the September 1 window.

After the agreement was reached between the clubs on Wednesday evening, Leoni was given permission to fly into Merseyside and complete his medical on Thursday and he has now been confirmed as a Reds player.

Liverpool earmarked Leoni as a replacement for Jarell Quansah, who joined Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35m earlier this summer.

The Reds have had a buy-back clause inserted into that contract and it's understood terms have already been pre-agreed for the England Under-21 international should he return to Merseyside.

Liverpool had been searching for a centre-back of a younger profile for the last two summers having initially wanted Chelsea's Levi Colwill on the back of his season-long spell with Brighton in 2023.

Last year, Lille defender Leny Yoro opted for Manchester United amid additional interest from Real Madrid, while the Spanish giants triggered Dean Huijsen's £50m release clause at Bournemouth in June.

Speaking about the Leoni deal on Thursday in his pre-match press conference for Friday night's visit from Bournemouth, head coach Arne Slot said: “[I can tell you] that the clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn’t signed for us yet.

The moment when he signs for us, I can go into more detail."

Writing in his Gazzetta dello Sport column this week, the legendary Arrigo Sacchi said: “Liverpool would make a great signing, and he could thrive in the Premier League.

Why is it so complicated to buy a €40m defender for an Italian club, and yet Liverpool doesn't flinch?

“We’ll see if the deal goes through, but in any case, I feel like the Reds would make a great coup by securing this boy, whom I followed with curiosity and interest in the second half of last season.

"Leoni is only 18, and I’m told he’s a decent guy, hard-working, humble, and very determined.

I’m convinced he’ll be the linchpin of the Azzurri (Italy national team) defence for a long time."

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Leoni becomes the eighth signing of the summer after deals for Jeremie Frimpong (£29m), Florian Wirtz (£116m), Milos Kerkez (£40m), Armin Pecsi (£1.5m), Freddie Woodman (free), Hugo Ekitike (£79m) and Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose £29m transfer from Valencia was agreed last year.

The centre-half's arrival takes the Premier League champions' summer spending, inclusive of add-ons, to £320.5m, with over £190m recouped on the sales of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£10m), Jarell Quansah (£35m), Caoimhin Kelleher (£18m), Nat Phillips (£3m), Tyler Morton (£15m), Luis Diaz (£65.5m) and Darwin Nunez (£46m).


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