Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni sent reality check as defender snubbed for the second time – opinion
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Giovanni Leoni is held in high regard in Italy and is still waiting to make his Liverpool debut.
The Reds were keen to bring in a few defenders this summer, preferably an experienced one and then a younger one to learn from Virgil van Dijk.
Parma’s Leoni was the player they selected for the latter, with the Italian costing just £26m, something that sounds like a steal given how highly rated he is.
Liverpool fans are yet to see him in action, however, with the 18-year-old still waiting for Arne Slot to give him the nod.
Despite this, the centre-back still received his first international call up, although he has been sent a hard-hitting reality check in the last seven days.
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Although Leoni played just one season in Serie A, the hype around him suggests that Liverpool have one of the best young defenders around, suggesting the future is in safe hands.
And, receiving a call up for any nation at 18 is a big achievement, let alone for a country as big as Italy in the footballing world, again suggesting he will go right to the very top.
However, things have moved very quickly for Leoni in the last month, and now he may have just been sent a reality check by his national team boss Gennaro Gattuso.
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The former AC Milan midfielder decided to take Leoni with the rest of his squad, but did not include him in either of the matchday squads.
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This rather brutal decision means not only did he not get a single minute, but he did not even make the bench.
Not only will this frustrate Leoni a little, but it might annoy Liverpool fans too as instead, he could have been back at the AXA training ground and continuing to settle in.
Both of Italy’s games turned out to be rather dramatic, with the first being a 5-0 win over Estonia, while the second saw them edge past Israel 5-4.
As mentioned, it is pretty impressive that Leoni even made the team given his lack of experience, so this is not something that should dishearten him whatsoever.
Even if he did make the bench, it is very unlikely he would have got minutes anyway, meaning that it should not have too much of an impact.
For now, his role at Liverpool is to keep working hard and push Ibrahima Konate for a starting spot in the side, something he is more than capable of doing.
When he will get his debut is not yet known, but away at Burnley could be one of the best chances given the tricky run of fixtures ahead.