Parma sends public message of support to Giovanni Leoni

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Liverpool’s hopes of a seamless integration for their £26 million summer signing Giovanni Leoni were dashed on Tuesday night, when the 18-year-old centre-back suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during his full debut in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton.

Leoni, who joined from Parma on August 15 for a reported £26 million!



had immediately caught the eye with his composed defending and ball-playing ability.

His first outing for the Reds looked set to herald the beginning of a bright chapter—only for the teenager to be stretchered off in the 78th minute at Anfield, leaving manager Arne Slot and supporters in stunned silence.

The timing could scarcely be worse: Gennaro Gattuso had earmarked Leoni as one of the promising talents to make his senior Italy debut during the October international break, having included him in the squad for September’s World Cup qualifiers.

Although he did not feature against Estonia or Israel, his presence in the squad underlined Gattuso’s intention to blood the youngster once the campaign resumed.

Medical assessments over the next 48 hours are expected to confirm the worst fears – a torn ACL ruling Leoni out for the vast majority of the 2025–26 season, and almost certainly depriving him of his long-awaited Azzurri bow this autumn.

The news lands as a cruel blow not only to Liverpool, who now have just Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez as recognised senior centre-backs, but also to Italy, who had planned to reward the defender’s rapid rise with international recognition.

But back in his native country, former side Parma released a short but classy statement on one of their record sales.

Taking to X, Parma wrote:

“Forza, Giovanni?

We are deeply sorry for your injury.”

“The entire Club and the Yellow-Blue family wish you a swift and peaceful recovery.”

For a young player whose debut promised so much, the prospect of months in rehabilitation and the frustration of missing a maiden Italy cap makes this one of the bleakest days in what had been a dream start to life at Liverpool.

The teenager also put out a statement of his own, writing on Instagram:

“I want to sincerely thank every single person who has shown me support in this difficult moment.

“It wasn’t the debut I had always dreamed of, but I will give everything to be back playing in this magical stadium as soon as possible.

“Thank you so much!”

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