Former Parma chief Martin Semmens has tipped Giovanni Leoni to replace Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in the team.
Liverpool fought off competition to sign Leoni from Parma in a deal worth £26million ($35M) plus add-ons.
Semmens in a chat with talkSPORT, believe they have brought in one of the brightest young center-backs in Europe, despite Leoni playing just 17 senior matches in his career.
“Yeah, absolutely for me (Leoni is the heir to Virgil van Dijk). We signed him the second year I was there in the summer, and I have a deep love for the likes of (Newcastle defender) Tino Livramento (for Southampton) and signing these young players. Romeo Lavia: This was the same kind of deal.
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“I think it was clearly the best young centre back in Italy, if not Europe. And again, we sold him the vision to come to our club to play in Serie A. I think it was 17 when he started playing, and then when the right moment comes, you will go.
“Our understanding was the same with the keeper we bought, (Zion) Suzuki the Japanese keeper. Man United tried to buy him. That’s a rumour I can semi-confirm. The view was that they would probably stay there longer than one year, but Leoni was such a level, and again, I think it highlights Liverpool’s ability that they spotted that.
“There were other clubs in the Premier League that asked me about him – not as an Executive for Parma because I’d left by then, and I told them what I thought, and they didn’t follow through on it. Liverpool never called me.”