Football General Manager
- Inter interested in Parma’s Leoni
- Face competition from Italian and English clubs
- Player wants maximum game time ahead of World Cup
According to Calciomercato Parma have set a €40 million (£34m/$46m) price tag on Italian talent Leoni, a target for Inter. They are counting on manager Christian Chivu, who coached Leoni last season at Parma, to tip the scales in their favour in the battle to convince him to move to San Siro. Inter are also proposing a development plan that would see Leoni play alongside experienced defenders Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij to help ease his transition.
Leoni’s impressive form at Sampdoria convinced Parma to spend €4m (£3m/$5m) to bring him to Serie A. Since then, his performances have drawn attention from Italy‘s top three clubs. AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri is a big admirer and reportedly wants Leoni to be a key figure in his backline, but they must sell players before making a move. Juventus are also interested and see him as a long-term partner for Gleison Bremer, though they first must raise funds by offloading the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Timothy Weah, and Weston McKennie.
English clubs are also interested in Leoni, with Liverpool viewing him as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, Tottenham eyeing him as a successor to Cristian Romero and Newcastle looking to add stability to their backline. However, Leoni has turned down a move to the Premier League, as he has no intention of leaving Italy. His priority is to secure regular playing time next season to strengthen his case for a spot in Italy’s squad for the 2026 World Cup.
Still in his development phase Leoni will carefully evaluate all proposal and choose a club which will aid his growth. Inter will hope that Leoni will make the move to the Nerazzurri as they look to infuse some much needed young blood into their backline.
