Liverpool have been linked with a move for Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella repeatedly in recent years.
The Italian has impressed for the champions this season, playing 33 times in all competitions, scoring three times and assisting six times. He has consistently put in good performances for Inter, ever since he joined the club from Cagliari in the summer of 2019.
While Barella is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Europe, pundit Andy Townsend has expressed his belief that the Azzurri star cannot be a starter for the top six in the Premier League.
He told Gianluca di Marzio’s website: “In my opinion he is not ‘hard-running’ enough to be a starter at Liverpool. I have doubts about whether he can also play at City and Arsenal.”
Speaking further, Townsend stated that Barella does not quite have a fixed position on the pitch and that can hold him back in England.
“I like Barella, he is very strong and talented but I am not so convinced that he would be a starter in many big English teams. He is not a real number 6, he likes to be free on the pitch.”
While Townsend is certainly entitled to his opinion, Barella has always been a box-to-box midfielder at Inter and has thrived on work-rate and contributing to goals consistently.
That is why he always been amongst the goals for Inter and has become a leader-like figure under Simone Inzaghi.
There is little doubt that he can be an absolute star for a club like Liverpool, especially considering how Inter are seen as one of the best teams in Europe right now.
