Reported Arsenal and Liverpool target Nicolo Barella is an ‘exceptional’ talent, with former teammate Simone Padoin valuing the Inter Milan star higher than Nicolo Zaniolo and Federico Chiesa.
If only Barcelona had listened to Ariedo Braida.
Speaking to Marca recently, Barca’s one-time sporting director revealed that, during his time at the Camp Nou, he had encouraged the Catalan Kings to sign a talented, diminutive midfielder who was starting to catch the eye at Cagliari.
These days, while Barcelona are crying out for a midfielder with Barella’s all-action skill-set, the Italy international is rapidly emerging as one of the continent’s elite midfield talents at the San Siro.
No wonder Inter coach Antonio Conte is desperate to tie his £30 million dynamo down to a new long-term contract, with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal sniffing around (FC Inter News).
Barella impressed during his debut season with the Nerazzuri, finishing second in Serie A and reaching the Europa League final.
But the 23-year-old has taken his game to an all new level in 2020/21 with that sublime backheel assist against Real Madrid recently the sort of match-changing magic more readily associated with Inter legends Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wesley Sneijder or Jurgen Klinsmann.
“With (Romelu) Lukaku he is the best player of Inter in the last 16-18 months, he is beyond any doubt,” former Cagliari teammate Padoin told the Tuttomercatoweb podcast, translated by FC Inter News.
“I’m not ashamed to say that, in my opinion, he is the best young Italian along with (Milan goalkeeper Gigi) Donnarumma. I could name (Juventus winger Federico) Chiesa and (£53m Roma star) Zaniolo but, in my opinion, nobody has had his consistency.
“In my experience in Cagliari I have seen him grow steadily, without the typical ups and downs. Every two or three months, he improved. For Conte, he is the truly irreplaceable.
“When he was with me, he had an incredible amount of ball recoveries. Now, maybe he doesn’t score a lot but I see him making exceptional assists both at Inter and in the national team.”
Unfortunately for Liverpool and Arsenal, Inter appear to agree with Padoin’s assessment.
Barella is, in fact, ‘truly irreplaceable’. The Serie A challengers are desperate to hang on to a midfielder rapidly turning into a jack of all trades, master of most.
Interestingly, Zaniolo had, until recently, been viewed by many as the jewel of an exciting, youthful Italian midfield with his agent comparing the Roma star to Paul Gascoigne.
“He can become just like Gascoigne: devastating with his technique and quality,” he said, via the Mail.
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