Liverpool are reportedly leading the race to complete the signing of Inter Milan and Italy midfielder Nicolo Barella at the end of the season, having to pay at least £85.7m for his services.
The Reds’ midfield has excelled since Arne Slot came in last summer, with Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai shining as a unit.
With Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott also strong options, there is an argument to say that midfield is the least pressing area for Liverpool to focus on this summer.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport [via Sport Witness], it is “Liverpool above all” in the race to sign Barella in the next transfer window, suggesting they are in pole position to snap him up.
The report does state that the Italian can’t be worth less than £85.7m, however, and the player himself does appear to be happy at Inter currently.
Do Liverpool need Barella this summer?
Barella is a fantastic midfielder who any team would be fortunate to have, with Jurgen Klopp once lauding him during his time as Liverpool manager, saying:
“That Barella is not able to play is not bad for us. He’s a really good player, a really good player and I like him a lot. He has all the things you want from a midfield player: he is aggressive, he is technical, he can run for ages and all these kinds of things. That’s a top-class player.”
Now 28, though, Barella isn’t getting any younger, even though he is in his prime currently, so for Liverpool to pay huge money for him would be a risk, especially when other positions are more important to strengthen.
Additions at centre-back, left-back and in attack are essential – a new right-back will also be needed if Trent Alexander-Arnold joins Real Madrid – so for now, the Inter ace shouldn’t be considered a primary target.
That said, if Liverpool did sign Barella this summer, he would be a wonderful addition in the middle of the park, having scored three goals and registered six assists in Serie A this season, as well as averaging 1.8 key passes and 1.5 tackles per game.
