Liverpool Turn Down Juventus Loan Inquiry for Giovanni Leoni

The Serie A club asked about a loan for the teenage Italian defender amid a rebuild around domestic talent, but Liverpool said no as he nears a return to training.

Juventus have identified Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni as a target as they reshape their squad, the Liverpool Echo reports. Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport says the Serie A club went a step further, sounding out a loan switch that the Premier League side rebuffed. Leoni is a teenage Italian center back who joined Liverpool from Parma.

The reported interest is tied to Juventus's ambition to rebuild around domestic talent and restore what the report calls the club's "national" DNA. The report says the Turin club's footballing direction had grown muddled in recent seasons, and that building around Italian players is a message that is straightforward to sell inside and outside the club. A young Italian rated highly in his homeland, Leoni matches that brief exactly.

Since arriving from Parma, Leoni has logged just 81 minutes in a Liverpool shirt. One of those appearances came in a Carabao Cup win over Southampton, where the report says he caught the eye before an ACL injury cut short his first season in English football. Few defenders attract interest from one of Italy's grandest clubs on the back of such limited playing time, though the report stresses the circumstances behind it.

Missing close to a full year came at a difficult point for a young player still settling into a new country and a higher level of the game. His rehabilitation has now advanced far enough that he is on the verge of rejoining the senior group for training.

Andoni Iraola has laid out what comes next. "I think the next one probably should be Giovanni Leoni," he said. "I think the plan is also to start training during the [international] break, with the group."

The rejection of the loan inquiry is interpreted in the report as evidence that Liverpool continue to rate the defender despite a debut campaign derailed by injury. The report argues Liverpool brought him in because they believe a genuine defender is in there, and that having the teenager available again this month would add a useful option during a packed run of games.

Leoni's standing in Italy has not suffered from his lack of minutes at Anfield. The report credits his body of work at Parma for that reputation, noting that clubs and scouts are unwilling to write off a player's ability on the strength of a single serious injury.

Juventus's rebuilding effort extends beyond one name. The report says the club is also tracking Lorenzo Palmisani, Michael Kayode, Guglielmo Vicario and Chey Ndour as it remakes its squad.

According to the report's assessment, the sensible course for Liverpool is to retain the player, complete his recovery and judge him on the pitch before considering any role in another club's rebuild. A loan at this stage, it argues, would let Juventus profit from patience shown, and risk carried, at Anfield. No agreement between the clubs is currently in place.