Giovanni Leoni Strengthens Liverpool's Back Sector Before Premier League Start

Central defender Parma Giovanni Leoni joined Liverpool ahead of the Premier League's inaugural match. (Instagram @geovannileonii)

JAKARTA - Liverpool are still adding players ahead of the English Premier League competition. Just moments before the opening match against Bournemouth at Anfield Stadium, Saturday, August 16, 2025 in the morning WIB, Liverpool officially recruited defender Giovanni Leoni.

Who is Leoni? The figure is not yet known. However, Leoni, who was 18 when he was recruited by Liverpool from the Italian Serie A Governor Parma, is a young defender who is predicted to skyrocket.

Leoni's appearance shows that Italy has never been short of tough centre-backs. Liverpool itself feels the need to sign the defender of the Italian U-19 national team to strengthen the defense sector.

In addition, manager Arne Slot feels the need to regenerate players. Moreover, captain Virgil van Dijk is already 34 and is approaching retirement or changing clubs. In the center back position, Leoni is not only Van Dijk's coating but also Ibrahim Konate and Joe Gomez.

It is not called the transfer value of Leoni. However, British media said Liverpool had to spend up to 26 million euros or approximately 489 billion rupiah to bring in Leoni.

The price of Leoni has increased many times because Parma only bought Leoni from Serie B Sampdoria club for only 1.5 million euros.

After officially joining, Leoni immediately entered the first team and was likely to sit on the bench when Liverpool faced Bournemouth. The reason is, Gomez is still not recovering from acadelles injury and Slot can only rely on Van Dijk-Konate at the heart of the Reds' defense.

"This is the reason [Leoni immediately entered the team in the match against Bournemouth]. We are faced with injured players and have to unite old players and those who have just joined. We also hope new players can unite soon," said Slot.

"I want the team standard to be 10/10. We have to be able to play well, but 'playing well' itself is still not enough. We have to go further," he said.

"We already have to face Bournemouth. So there's no more reason," said the man from the Netherlands.

With the status of defending champions of the Premier League, the former Feyennoord coach hopes that Liverpool will step on the gas from the first match. Moreover, Liverpool became the favorite to win as well as defend the league title.

Not only that, The Pool has purchased many players. Including signing Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for 100 million pounds plus bonuses that can reach 16 million pounds.

The purchase of this 22-year-old player broke the club's transfer record. This makes Wirtz burdened as Liverpool's most expensive player. But Slot made sure his players were able to overcome the pressure.

"Good players can always get roads when playing in a good team. He [Wirtz] is a good player who is in a good club," said Slot.

"Many see him as a young player because in reality he is still young. But I don't see him as a young man. He has won the German Bundesliga and the German Cup. He shows he has a strong mentality. He will not be affected by expensive transfers or anything," said Slot defending his players.

Liverpool started the competition with not good preparation. In the Community Shield match which opened the league, Liverpool lost on penalties against FA Cup winner Crystal Palace.