Liverpool have reportedly entered the race to sign Atalanta wonderkid Giorgio Scalvini, who is also being eyed by heated divisional rivals Manchester City.
What’s the word?
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Reds are now looking to swoop for the 19-year-old Scalvini, who is also attracting the attention of European giants such as Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
Primarily a centre-back, Scalvini has earned plaudits for his ability and meteoric ascension to the Atalanta first-team, with the Italian outfit unwilling to part with their starlet for anything below £34m.
This might appear a lucrative fee for a player so poor in experience, but having displayed assurance and ability beyond his years, any deal achieved would likely prove prudent indeed for top sides chasing major honours.
Klopp’s next Hummels
Jurgen Klopp will hope that he can forge a deal for the talented teen, and perhaps emulate the past success of Mats Hummels at Borussia Dortmund.
Hummels, who has spent the majority of his career going back and forth between Dortmund and Bayern like a yo-yo, enjoyed the maiden period of his career under Klopp’s wing, when the manager led the Yellow Wall.
Rising to become one of Germany’s most illustrious defenders, the 33-year-old made a total of 242 appearances for the German head coach, winning two Bundesliga titles and the DFB Pokal.
And now the pathway to a similar fruitful career has been paved, with Atalanta’s hot prospect certainly enticed by the proposition of developing under Klopp.
Scalvini has made 11 appearances for the Orobici this season, starting eight times, and has quickly earned a regular spot in the starting line-up after initially perching on the periphery.
His exploits have even earned him three appearances for the Italian national team, who are looking to reinvent themselves having failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, despite winning the 2020 European Championship the preceding year.
Scalvini offers a positive flair to his game that evades the vast majority of central defenders, averaging 0.4 shots per match and already netting his first goal for the club in the opening period of the Serie A campaign.
Statistical data from FBref also illustrates the teenage titan’s prowess across a variety of fronts, ranking him in the top percentile for touches in the attacking penalty area, the top 10% for dribbles completed and the top 3% for rate of tackles when compared to positional peers in Europe this past year, embodying the skill-set of the quintessential successful modern centre-back.
He does, however, rank within the bottom 13% for pass completion among active centre-backs across major leagues, indicating an improvement must be made to the precision of his ball-playing skills, although at just 19-years-old he does indeed have time to nurture and develop.
Labelled a “top talent” by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Scalvini could be the key to cementing Liverpool’s defensive pedigree over the coming years, and while the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip have been exceptional under Klopp’s reign, with both now 31-years-old, the future of the club must be considered.
Indeed, it is time for the German tactician to unearth his next Hummels-esque figure with the Italian youngster undoubtedly possessing the potential to become a figurehead if he receives the right guidance.