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Nicolo Barella gives Liverpool answer as Newcastle United close in on £60m transfer
Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of Nicolo Barella. That much is evident, with the German on record sharing is admiration of the Inter Milan midfielder.
“That Barella is not able to play is not bad for us,” Klopp said ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan in 2022. “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.”
With Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders also an admirer of Barella, it is no surprise that Liverpool have been linked with the Italian as they continue to plot a midfield revamp this summer.
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Having brought in Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton earlier this month, the Reds are believed to be targeting a younger profile of player for their second midfield recruit. Khephren Thuram, Manu Kone, Ryan Gravenberch, Gabri Veiga, and Romeo Lavio are among those of interest to Liverpool as a result.
However, they continue to be linked with Barella, with reports suggesting Newcastle United were in talks with Inter Milan regarding a potential £50m, prompting Kopites to urge their club to make a move of their own.
While such a fee was understandably eye-catching, the suggestion was also premature. Reports have since claimed that Inter Milan are actually holding out for a fee closer to £80m.
As a result, having already withdrawn from the race to sign Jude Bellingham earlier this year, Liverpool are likely to be priced out of a move for Barella even if he does leave the San Siro this summer. The Independent report that while the Reds believe the 26-year-old could complement Mac Allister perfectly, they deem the asking-price far too high.
The fact that Newcastle were in transfer talks for the Italian had still offered Reds an outside hope of landing Barella, as fans theorised that history could repeat itself. After all, Tottenham Hotspur were in talks with FC Porto to sign Luis Diaz back in January 2021, essentially negotiating a lower fee before Liverpool swooped in to sign the Colombian.
Yet, the latest speculation would suggest that there will be no compromise with Inter Milan on the asking-fee for Barella, at least not sufficiently, with Newcastle reportedly turning their attentions elsewhere instead. The Athletic report the Magpies are now close to agreeing a deal to sign Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for a fee in the region of £60m.
It remains to be seen if negotiations for Barella will continue, though the Daily Mail reported that Newcastle sources had always stressed that such a deal would always be a ‘difficult’ one to complete. With their interest now quickly switching to Tonali, it would perhaps suggest that his compatriot is set to stay at the San Siro, with this latest twist seemingly giving the Reds their answer regarding whether their potential target could actually move on for an affordable price this summer.
Of course, that could be both good and bad news for Liverpool and their own interest in the midfielder. With Newcastle indeed looking elsewhere, Kopites won’t be bemoaning the sight of the Italian running out for one of their rivals in the Premier League this season, though it could suggest that the 26-year-old won’t actually be on the move after all.
However, if the Reds were to make a move of their own for Barella, they would have one less side to compete with. Meanwhile, there perhaps still remains hope that transfer fee could potentially be lowered later in the summer as a result too, akin to Liverpool’s successful signing of Alisson Becker in the summer of 2018 after AS Roma lowered the asking-price following Real Madrid’s signing of Thibaut Courtois.
Yet, as things stand, Reds interest from afar in Barella is nothing more than that, with the Independent crediting Thuram as a ‘more affordable option’, while Klopp wants his summer business completed as soon as possible ahead of pre-season getting underway at the AXA Training Centre on July 8.
The Italian appears to be just too expensive. In truth, if Newcastle hadn’t held talks for him in, the possibility of a summer switch to Anfield wouldn’t have entered the thoughts of Liverpool fans in the first place.
While Barella has his admirers on Merseyside, for now Liverpool’s attention also appears to be elsewhere.
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