Nicolo Barella is likely to turn down a move to Liverpool this summer even if Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League giants stump up a bid in the region of £75 million for the Inter Milan star.
Klopp admitted on Sky Sports recently that the chances of Jude Bellingham arriving at Anfield this summer were… well, we cannot stump up a metaphor quite as fitting as the one provided by former Borussia Dortmund boss.
“We are not children,” Klopp quips. “Ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they say a Ferrari, you wouldn’t say that’s a good idea, it’s too expensive and you cannot drive it.”
If Bellingham is the Ferrari of midfield targets, than Nicolo Barella is something akin to the Alfa Romeo. Not quite as glamorous – or expensive for that matter – but still dripping with horse power.
Liverpool, Sport Mediaset claim, could test the waters with a £75 million offer for the Inter Milan enforcer. An eye-watering fee, yes. But just shy of half the figure Dortmund want for their much-coveted, Stalybridge-born superstar.
Liverpool could target Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella
Barella, a buzzing, bouncing ball of intensity and belligerence, is enjoying his most prolific season yet at the San Siro. Eight goals and eight assists in all competitions; the former Cagliari ace is even more impressive now than under Antonio Conte in 2020/21. When Inter ended their decade-long Scudetto drought.
“He was fantastic,” Anfield icon Jamie Carragher told CBS Sports; Barella scoring with a fabulous finish during Inter’s 3-3 Champions League draw with Benfica.
“There’s actually talk of him being linked to my club called Liverpool for next season. So, that’s an extra £10 million we may have to pay if it does happen!”
Even if Liverpool do stump up a fee similar to that they paid for Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Darwin Nunez, it is far from certain that Barella would say yes. In fact, Sport Mediaset – via FCInterNews – believe that a move to England ‘does not at all appeal’ to a man who hopes to stay at the San Siro.
Then again, Barella’s future could still be taken out of his own hands. Inter are under pressure from Financial Fair Play to cash in on at least one star player. Barella, alongside Alessandro Bastoni, Denzel Dumfries and co, is one of their more sellable assets.
Such is the array of Barella’s talents, he has been compared to a wide variety of contrasting midfield talent. Including N’Golo Kante, Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard himself, meanwhile, believes the diminutive 26-year-old is on his way to becoming a ‘world-class’ talent.
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