Liverpool in regular talks to sign £39m upgrade on Leoni

The interminable bid to sign Alexander Isak rumbles on for Liverpool, but sporting director Richard Hughes has a lot of work cut out as he chases multiple deals before the closure of the summer transfer market.

Newcastle United’s star striker has already been the focus of a rejected bid, totalling an initial £110m, and the Reds are expected to return, for the 25-year-old has suffered a catastrophic failure in relations with those at St. James’ Park.

However, Liverpool are also in desperate need of signing a centre-half in the coming weeks, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate lacking cover at the rear.

Liverpool focused on signing defender

Following Palace’s victory at Wembley, their chairman, Steve Parish, admitted that they might have to cash in on Marc Guehi this summer, the centre-back having entered the final year of his contract and been on Liverpool’s radar for months.

However, Liverpool are also tracking 18-year-old Parma defender Giovanni Leoni, with deals on the cards for both defenders.

It would be difficult to pull Leoni away from his Italian homeland at this fledgling stage of his career, and that’s why sporting director Richard Hughes has identified an alternative option to strengthen the backline.

According to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, Liverpool are rivalling Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Aston Villa for Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez, having been in regular contact with intermediaries.

Marseille are also in the mix and hope to close a deal this month, so Liverpool will need to get the deal done quickly.

What Joel Ordonez would bring to Liverpool

Ordonez, 21, might be in the early stage of his career, but he’s already made 84 appearances for his Belgian side after making the first leap away from his Ecuadorian homeland.

Now ready for a big move to a top-five league, Liverpool could hit gold in bringing him over, intrigued by his blend of aggressiveness and proactive passing.

Looking at how Ordonez and Leoni rank up statistically over the past year, there’s a case to be made that the Club Brugge man is the superior player at this point in time, with a roundedness about him that suggests he could even be a fitting alternative to Guehi, should Liverpool’s pursuit of the Eagles star prove fruitless.

Leoni is a talented young player, but there’s little to suggest that he has what it takes to break free and become a smooth passer beyond the capacity of Ordonez, who has actually been described as having “an impressively complete profile for a centre-back of his age”, by scout Jacek Kulig.

The same, of course, is true for Leoni, but Ordonez has far more experience and thus more substance behind forking out a sizeable figure this summer.

Should either Van Dijk or Konate fall to injury this season, an understudy would be required to step up, and given that Ordonez has already fought against Aston Villa over two legs in the Champions League, he has the confidence and receipts to do exactly that: step up.

Though Guehi would be Liverpool’s first-choice pick this summer, there’s no certainty that Liverpool will manage to convince Palace to reduce their demands and secure the England international’s signature.

Should they fail to do so, this South American up-and-comer has the physical attributes and the smooth, forward-tuned ball game to make a real impact in Slot’s squad, certainly proving an upgrade on the young and untested Leoni.