Liverpool have had a long-term interest in Nicolo Barella and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source on the club's pursuit of the player now that the summer transfer window is in full swing.
What's the latest on Liverpool's interest in Nicolo Barella?
According to Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool are "monitoring" the Inter Milan midfielder.
Romano claimed on his YouTube channel on Saturday morning:
"Keep an eye on Liverpool, because Liverpool have always been following the player, Jurgen Klopp has always been a big fan of Barella and so let's see what happens at Liverpool.
"They are speaking to agents of many midfielders because they will sign at least another important midfielder this summer, but they are also informed on the situation of Nicolo Barella."
The transfer expert followed up his video with a tweet that simply stated:
"Liverpool monitoring Barella — no way for £50m"
Who would Nicolo Barella replace in the Liverpool team?
There is no doubt that the Serie A sensation would be a phenomenal signing for Liverpool this summer and would be a huge statement of FSG's intent to provide Jurgen Klopp with quality replacements in midfield.
Indeed, the Reds have bid farewell to a number of midfielders with Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain leaving the club upon the expiry of their contracts, but also have trusted midfielders remaining who are reaching the latter stages of their careers.
Both Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson are well into their 30s at this point – with the latter celebrating his 32nd birthday this weekend – so it will be important to start planning for the next generation of talent needed to keep Liverpool in a position to be competitive at the highest level.
As a result, the signing of Barella would be a major coup for Liverpool and could provide the German coach with a player who can comfortably replace Henderson in the box-to-box midfield role sooner rather than later, which would ultimately result in a decline of first-team football for the club captain.
Over 35 Serie A appearances, the 26-year-old Champions League finalist – hailed as a potential "game-changer" for Liverpool by journalist Dean Jones – has scored six goals, registered six assists and tallied up an 85% pass completion rate.
As well as averaging 1.6 key passes, 1.4 tackles, 1.1 successful dribbles and 4.4 duels won per game, proving he is both potent in attack and a prolific ball-winning midfielder with a high work rate.
In fact, Barella has comfortably outperformed the Liverpool skipper in a number of attributes this season including progressive passes (214 v 189), progressive carries (76 v 37), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.17 v 3.13), take-on success (57.1% v 52.2%), aerial duels won (57.1% v 52.4% and tackles and interceptions (61 v 53), as per FBref.
Rumours of a £50m price tag being set for the Euro 2020 winner have been quickly dispelled this week, with £70m being closer to what Inter Milan will expect to consider parting ways with their talisman, according to Football Insider.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Liverpool finally act upon their strong interest in Barella as he would be a more than worthy successor to replace Henderson and significantly improve the midfield performances next season.