Liverpool seemingly saw potential in Daniele Paponi.
Much like any other club, Liverpool have missed out on a host of signings over the years, with a host of players slipping through their grasp.
Nabil Fekir is a very recent example, but the likes of Dani Alves, Simao, Gareth Barry and Alexis Sanchez were also close to joining Liverpool before their deals fell through.
They may have been cursing some of those misses, but they also dodged a few bullets over the years – and Daniele Paponi is closer to that.
Paponi was a bright young star at Parma back in Italy, making his Serie A debut at the age of just 17 whilst being touted for a huge future.
The striker failed to really live up to his potential though, failing to hit double figures in goals for Parma, Cesena, Rimini, Perugia, Bologna, Montreal Impact, Ancona and Latina.
Paponi did have a strong spell at Juve Stabia, and has hit 13 goals for Piacenza this season, but he’ll sadly go down as a player who didn’t quite live up to his potential.
Now 31, Paponi has been speaking to Gianluca Di Marzio, and admitted that he has just one regret in his career – not joining Liverpool.
Paponi claims that Liverpool wanted him 13 years ago, but he chose to stay at Parma instead; and he may wonder what could have been had he made the move to Anfield.
“At 18 I could have gone to Liverpool, but I decided to stay at Parma,” said Paponi, with Liverpool maybe relieved they didn’t sign him given how his career panned out.
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