Liverpool’s £26m ‘lynchpin’ set for eagerly anticipated Reds debut in Carabao Cup clash | OneFootball

Liverpool fans could viably get their first look at one Reds player in the Carabao Cup third round clash against Southampton at Anfield on Tuesday night.

With the Premier League champions playing their fourth fixture in 10 days, Arne Slot is highly likely to ring the changes for the visit of the Saints in the competition which (for now) is the lowest priority for LFC this season.

The Dutchman might view it as the perfect setting to test out players in a low-risk environment, a bit like signing up to a £5 minimum deposit casino in the UK and enjoying the games on offer for a minimal initial outlay.

It’s plausible that there could be a Liverpool debut for Giovanni Leoni in the Southampton game, with the teenage Italian defender yet to feature since his £26m transfer from Parma last month.

Leoni has already made a big impression in Italy

The 18-year-old has arrived at Anfield with a glowing reputation in his homeland, with legendary former Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi ‘convinced’ that the youngster will become a ‘lynchpin’ of the national team’s defence ‘for a long time’.

(Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

The teenager broke into the Parma first team last season and went on to make 17 appearances as he nailed down a regular starting berth, and he gave a particularly impressive display when the Gialloblu stunned Juventus in a 1-0 victory in April.

He’s already had experience of coming up against high-level strikers, keeping Romelu Lukaku quiet in a notable 0-0 draw against eventual Serie A champions Napoli towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

The perfect opportunity for Leoni to get his Liverpool debut

Leoni should therefore have no fears about facing a Southampton attack which has been far from fearsome in the early weeks of this season, with the struggling Saints scoring just seven times in their first six Championship games. In fact, their top scorer so far is a left-back (Ryan Manning with two goals).

Slot will almost certainly give Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate a breather from the starting XI for the clash against Will Still’s side, and the young Italian is likely to be partnered with an experienced figure in Joe Gomez, who’s now into his 11th year as a Liverpool player.

If the 18-year-old plays as the left-sided centre-back, he could have another leader alongside him in Andy Robertson on the left flank to talk him through the match if needed.

Reds fans always love seeing youngsters being given their opportunity at Anfield, and the Carabao Cup tie against Southampton would be the ideal opportunity for the LFC head coach to hand Leoni his debut for the Merseyside club.