Giovanni Leoni is closing in on his return from a long-term knee injury.
The 19-year-old centre-back has been out since suffering an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament injury during his Liverpool debut in the league cup game against Southampton last September.
His recovery is still on schedule and after nearly 11 months he is set to put on the red shirt once again.
Liverpool believe the young defender will be a key part of their future despite spending almost a year on the sidelines. That will be proved true given they have only brought in Jeremy Jacquet at the back this summer despite letting Ibrahima Konate leave on a free, and having already needed a centre-back before then.
The club had been preparing a medical for Marc Guehi last summer – with Konate still at the club – before the deal fell through due to Crystal Palace getting cold feet about selling the England international.
But next season will be a positive one for Leoni with the arrival of head coach Andoni Iraola. The new boss had in fact identified Leoni as a top transfer target while in charge of Bournemouth. He considered him the ideal profile to replace Dean Huijsen in his system, after the Spaniard left for Real Madrid.
Liverpool won the race for Leoni but Iraola now has a chance to work with the defender, who showed glimpses of his ability on his debut last year.
Iraola’s record of developing young defenders, including Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi, will also likely benefit Leoni once he is available again, and then perhaps he could truly be, as Liverpool hope, a key part of the club’s future.
