Yesterday, the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or was released, with Mohamed Salah the only Liverpool representative to be seen (BBC).
However, one other nominee could also become a Red soon.
What’s the story?
Well, after a stunning season with Inter Milan, Nicolo Barella has been nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
The 24-year-old won the Serie A title, before making six appearances as Italy won EURO 2020 – it was quite the year for the playmaker.
It comes after La Repubblica claimed back in July that Liverpool were preparing a €70m (£59m) offer for the midfielder.
If that was true, Jürgen Klopp will probably be quite annoyed to see Barella among the Ballon d’Or nominees, as Inter could now demand a higher fee.
Having said that, he’s worth the big bucks – Inter have a potential superstar on their hands.
What could Nicolo Barella offer Liverpool?
The best way to explain what Barella does is by means of a comparison.
Interestingly, the Italian has been likened to Chelsea’s midfield terrier N’Golo Kante, arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world.
Few players possess the energy, tackling ability and anticipation skills of the Frenchman.
In that respect, you could even say it’s quite the honour for Barella to earn this comparison.
It was Jurgen Klinsmann who made the comparison when speaking to Corriere della Sera.
The German said: “He has the same function as Kante – but the Inter player is in the development phase. The Frenchman already has experience and has won everything.”
Klopp doesn’t really have a player like Barella in his ranks, despite having plenty of midfielders to choose from.
If he did end up at Anfield, it would be quite the coup for Liverpool.
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