Club chief confirms Liverpool took THIRD player from Newcastle this summer despite lower offer

Liverpool signed Alexander Isak from Newcastle and won the race for Hugo Ekitike ahead of the Magpies but there was a third win for the Reds in between those deals

It wasn’t just in attack where Liverpool got the upper hand over Newcastle in the summer transfer window. Parma CEO Federico Cherubini has claimed the Magpies were also after Giovanni Leoni, only for the Italian defender to opt for an Anfield move.

Liverpool signed Alexander Isak from Newcastle on transfer deadline day in a record-breaking £125million move. Eddie Howe’s side had earlier looked to bring in Hugo Ekitike as a potential Isak replacement, but he also moved to Anfield before Isak joined him there on Monday.

Newcastle were frustrated in their efforts to sign a number of other targets, with James Trafford joining Manchester City and Joao Pedro preferring Chelsea. And now it has been claimed that Leoni is another who they tried and failed to land.

“I’ve always said that the club, along with the owners, wanted to keep Giovanni, and he’s always said he’d be happy to stay,” Parma chief Cherubini told Gazzetta di Parma (via ParmaLive). “We even turned down an offer from Newcastle, which was more advantageous than the one Liverpool eventually made.

“When the Reds came forward, our plans changed: both because the offer was very attractive and because Giovanni made it clear he was very happy to take advantage of this opportunity. On the one hand, it’s obviously disappointing to have lost such a promising player, but on the other, there’s pride in a club like ours and recognition for those who believed in this boy in unsuspecting times, when he’d only played a few games in Serie B.”

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Leoni was unveiled by Liverpool ahead of their Premier League opener against Bournemouth, having joined in a £26m move earlier the same day. He was an unused substitute for the Reds’ next game, a 3-2 win away at Newcastle, but has yet to make his debut for the club.

The 18-year-old has also earned his first senior Italy call-up, and could make his debut against Estonia on Friday. He is one of five Premier League players in the squad, with Manchester City new boy Gianluigi Donnarumma also involved, but Leoni’s Liverpool team-mate Federico Chiesa continues his international exile.

“I’m very happy to be here. It’s a really great sensation and I’m honoured to be here,” Leoni told club media after signing for Liverpool. “Yeah, a lot [of excitement]. I’m so honoured. I was very happy [about Liverpool being interested]. When I saw this I said, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ I’m very happy.”

If he doesn’t feature against Burnley on September 14, Leoni could make his Liverpool debut in the Champions League. The Premier League holders begin their European campaign at home to Atletico Madrid three days after the Burnley trip, and will face Italian opposition on December 9 when they head to the San Siro to take on Inter Milan.

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