Nico Barella reminded people of Steven Gerrard as a teenager. He’s now a Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur target, according to reports.
We’ll start with the interest. CalcioMercato claims Liverpool like Barella, along with Tottenham Hotspur.
The 23-year-old Italian moved to Internazionale for £43m (per the Athletic), initially on loan in 2019. And it’s been upwards ever since.
Barella is now a very accomplished midfielder for both Inter and Italy. He’s performing at the highest level and earning huge praise from some greats of the Italian game.
Especially in the wake of Inter’s 2-0 win over Juventus this week. Barella shone and so it’s not real surprise that teams are interested.
The major sticking point, though, will be his price. Inter paid a fortune for him and reportedly view him as untouchable.
Signing him might be wishful thinking, then.
But Liverpool have a special reason to like the player – Barella was likened to Steven Gerrard growing up.
Sardinian Gerrard
Back in 2015, when Barella was a teenager playing for his local team Cagliari, Gazzetta Dello Sport ran a profile piece.
They labelled him the ‘Sardinian Steven Gerrard’, after his place of birth.
The reasons? Barella is a very versatile midfielder, capable of a little bit of everything. Add his drive and energy to that and you do get a Gerrard-like talent.
No wonder Liverpool reportedly like him, then. A player like Gerrard is essentially exactly what they’d want to replace Gini Wijnaldum.
We say ‘a player like Gerrard’ – obviously, Liverpool aren’t getting a clone form anywhere. Gerrard was a unique player and we’ll never see an equivalent, especially to Liverpool.
But it would great to get a hold of a fiery, all-action midfielder. Especially one who only turns 24 this summer.
As we say, though, it’s unlikely that anyone is prizing Barella away from Inter this year. But if an opportunity does arrive, we hope Liverpool make a move.
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