‘Talks underway’ for Liverpool to sign TWO stars in bargain £70m deal

Liverpool are in talks with Crystal Palace over signing Marc Guehi before the summer transfer window closes, according to multiple sources, with Arne Slot and Richard Hughes also ‘trying’ to bring another star to Anfield.

Although Liverpool won the Premier League title with relative ease last season, manager Slot and sporting director Hughes are aware that retaining the championship in the 2025/26 campaign will be tough, with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all set to get stronger.

Liverpool have already made seven new signings in the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong among others, but the Reds are not done yet.

TEAMtalk understands that Liverpool are planning to make a second and improved bid for Alexander Isak after having their initial offer rejected by Newcastle United.

With Jarell Quansah having left for Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer and Ibrahima Konate out of contract at the end of the season, Liverpool are in the market for a new defender.

Marc Guehi is Liverpool’s top defensive target, with TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Rudy Galetti, reporting on July 3 that the Crystal Palace defender has already agreed on personal terms with the Merseyside club.

There was speculation over the weekend that Liverpool were planning to open talks with Palace after the Community Shield, and it has now been reported by various journalists that the two Premier League clubs are actively in negotiations over the 25-year-old defender.

According to BBC Sport, Liverpool have held ‘initial talks’ with Palace over signing Guehi.

Palace, who won the FA Cup last season and the Community Shield on Sunday, want £40million (€46.2m, $54.1m) for Guehi, but Liverpool do not want to pay that.

The Times journalist, Paul Joyce, has reported on X that a deal could be around £35m (€40.5m, $47.3m), including add-ons.

Joyce wrote at 3:48pm on August 12: “Talks underway between Liverpool and Palace for Guehi. Deal could potentially be around £30 million to £35 million including add ons.”

READ MORE 🔴 The five Liverpool targets most heavily linked with Anfield transfers to cap off dream summer

Liverpool also in talks for Giovanni Leoni

Guehi is not the only defender that Liverpool are keen on signing in the final weeks of the summer transfer window, with Giovanni Leoni also on their radar.

Sources have told TEAMtalk’s Italian football correspondent, Rudy Galetti, that Liverpool are keen on a summer deal for Leoni.

Tottenham Hotspur have had an informal approach for Leoni already turned down, with Parma demanding €40m (£34.5m) for the 18-year-old centre-back.

According to BBC Sport, Liverpool are ‘trying to sign’ Leoni, with trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano adding that the Reds want the teenager as well as Guehi.

Romano wrote on X at 4:18pm on August 12: “Liverpool have agreed personal terms with Marc Guehi! Giovanni Leoni is also keen on the move.

“Negotiations underway with Palace for fee around £35m as total package, deal could be done soon.

“#LFC work on both Guehi and Leoni, NOT alternative as revealed today.”

Latest Liverpool news: Alexander Isak update, Bradley Barcola stance

Alexander Isak has taken drastic measures to force a move to Liverpool before the summer transfer window closes, with the Sweden international striker making it clear to Newcastle United what he would do if he does not get to join the Premier League champions.

Newcastle are keen on a deal for a Man Utd striker, who could help Liverpool in their quest to sign Isak.

Meanwhile, a reliable source has revealed what sources have told him about Liverpool signing Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window.

Who is Giovanni Leoni?

By Samuel Bannister

One of the latest big defensive prospects in Italian football, Leoni has worked his way up through the ranks and already has one season of Serie A action behind him by the age of 18.

Born in the Italian capital, he was raised as a Roma supporter. But he never joined his hometown team’s academy, since his family relocated to Padua when he was five years old.

Vigontina were his first youth club, before he developed with Cittadella and ultimately joined Padova as a 12-year-old.

Leoni made his Serie C debut in March 2023, becoming Italy’s youngest professional footballer that season at the age of 16 years and three months.

He made three Coppa Italia appearances for Padova in the first half of the following season before setting out on a loan spell with Sampdoria, stepping up to Serie B in the process and helping his new side reach a play-off spot.

Leoni was an unused substitute in the preliminary round of the play-offs, which Sampdoria lost, and barely two months after his move was made permanent, he was being transferred again.

This time, it was a step up to Serie A for the youngster, still only 17 at the time he was acquired by Parma (his 18th birthday wasn’t until December). Coincidentally, he made 17 appearances in his first Serie A season.

While he statistically doesn’t stand out too much yet, Leoni’s potential makes him attractive to a number of clubs. He has an imposing figure at 6ft 5in, which he makes the most of in aerial duels.

But he also possesses good traits with the ball at his feet and can slot in on the right-hand side of a centre-back department.

That has usually been within a back three so far, but given his ability to play in the middle of that kind of backline, he should be able to adapt to a back four as well. In fact, he was trusted to be at the heart of Parma’s defence in games against the likes of Napoli and Lazio towards the end of the 2024-25 season.

Parma’s head coach at the time, Cristian Chivu, earned a step up to Inter over the summer. And after taking the job, the former Ajax, Roma and Inter defender backed Leoni for a bigger destiny as well, stating his expectations of Leoni becoming a full international for Italy on a regular basis.

So far, Leoni has represented his nation at under-18 and under-19 level. He was named in Italy’s preliminary squad for the under-21 European Championship this summer as well, but didn’t make the final cut.

His trajectory is certainly an upwards one, though, and after the incremental increases in quality he has shown so far, the big boys are now circling.