Many Liverpool fans may have been left hugely frustrated earlier this week when the long-linked Leny Yoro ultimately signed for Manchester United, despite claims that Real Madrid was his dream destination.
As outlined by James Pearce, the Reds couldn’t guarantee the 18-year-old the assurances that he was seeking about game-time, while there was also a reluctance to part with €70m (£58.9m) for a young prospect who’s still relatively inexperienced at the highest level.
However, while LFC ultimately conceded the battle for the French teenager, a similar scenario regarding another defender could play right into their hands.
Last month, James Horncastle claimed that Liverpool enquired about the availability of Riccardo Calafiori, who was Italy’s one shining light in a largely miserable Euro 2024 for the Azzurri.
Arsenal had seemed to move into pole position for the 22-year-old, but as reported by football.london, they’re only willing to pay £34m for the player, which is £8m less than what Bologna are demanding.
With the Gunners at risk of seeing their pursuit of Calafiori collapse, a golden opportunity has presented itself for Liverpool to banish any lingering regrets over Yoro and make their Premier League rivals pay for their reluctance to meet the Italian’s asking price.
As former Reds midfielder Didi Hamann rightly pointed out, Italy’s ‘awful’ Euro 2024 exit against Switzerland in the round of 16 came when he was suspended, with Luciano Spalletti’s side clearly missing the Bologna defender badly as they meekly surrendered their European crown.
The 22-year-old came up clutch with the assist for Mattia Zaccagni’s last-gasp equaliser against Croatia a few days previously, without which the Azzurri wouldn’t have even made it to the knockout stage.
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Calafiori could give Liverpool the left-footed centre-back option they’re currently lacking, with the Bologna gem also capable of playing on the left flank if needed (Transfermarkt).
Also, while Yoro has only had one season of regular first-team football, the Italian has played at senior level for the past four years and has operated in Serie A and the Europa League, as well as a major tournament for his country.
When viewed in those terms, £42m for the latter would represent far better value than what United paid for the Frenchman, and Arsenal’s dithering has left Richard Hughes with a glorious chance to steal in ahead of the Gunners.
It’d go some way to igniting what has thus far been a tumbleweed transfer window for Liverpool.
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