Last week, we covered a rather strange article in Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, who claimed English club Liverpool had ‘an edge’ over the competition for Italian midfielder Nicolo Barella, currently playing for Cagliari.
The reason behind this advantage was listed as Lebron James being a Reds shareholder, and the 21-year-old really wanted to meet the NBA star.
Either way, fast forward to Friday, and Tuttosport also have an article about Liverpool edging their rivals for the Italy international, but it’s for a far more “plausible” reason.
The Italian newspaper explain that following the summer deal taking Ragnar Klavan from Anfield to Cagliari, the Reds are in ‘pole position’ to sign the midfielder.
If that wasn’t enough, there is also the fact Jürgen Klopp ‘seems to be the ideal manager’ to help Barella become an internationally renowned football player down the line.
We’ll leave it up to you whether or not to believe these reasons, but there’s nothing here suggesting Liverpool actually have an advantage over the competition, as the German manager ‘seems to be the ideal manager’ for just about everyone these days, and just because two clubs have completed a deal in the past doesn’t mean they’re now best friends and will play swapsies whenever they feel like it.
Maybe that’s just our cynicism kicking in, who knows?
It’s also worth pointing out Liverpool’s midfield is fairly stacked these days, so for a player wanting to play regularly to continue his development, perhaps moving to Merseyside isn’t the best idea.
Just something to keep in mind.
