Fabrizio Romano confirms major Giovanni Leoni update this evening | OneFootball

Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni has made the 25-man shortlist of finalists for the Golden Boy 2025 award.

The Italian centre-back has been recognised as one of Europe’s elite young footballers following a breakout campaign with Parma.

There were 17 appearances made (1,205 minutes) for the Serie A side in the 2024/25 season as I Crociati finished 16th.

Fabrizio Romano confirms major Giovanni Leoni achievement

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Fabrizio Romano shared details of the 25-strong list on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday evening.

The shortlist also contains prominent Premier League footballers, including Leny Yoro (Manchester United), Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), and Archie Grey (Tottenham), among others.

Leoni unfortunately picked up an ACL injury in his only Liverpool appearance in the 2025/26 season – a 1-0 win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

When will Leoni be back from injury?

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot already confirmed that his young defender would be sidelined ‘for a year’.

Analysis from injury expert Ben Dinnery claimed that the footballer may not return to the pitch until as late as early 2027.

Either way, expect Giovanni Leoni to miss out on the rest of the 2025/26 season at the bare minimum.

Who deserves to win the Golden Boy award?

If we’re to predict the potential winner of the Golden Boy award via statistics, our Italian starlet’s chances don’t look particularly optimistic.

* Giovanni Leoni’s average rating from the 2024/25 season compared with his peers (Fotmob)

That said, (statistical) appearances can be deceiving. The data, for instance, doesn’t take into account the comparative difficulty of leagues, which will surely have influenced each player’s ability to thrive for their respective clubs.

As we’ve seen at a tier above with the Ballon d’Or, arguably unfair weighting is given to attacking players, with consistent brilliance from goalkeepers and defenders often undervalued.

The average data may suggest our summer signing isn’t worth a second look.

(Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Yet, we know for a fact that Giovanni Leoni set himself apart with some seriously mature performances in Serie A against elite strikers like Romelu Lukaku.

So impressive was the 18-year-old centre-half that legendary manager Arrigo Sachi was left ‘convinced’ that the defender was destined to become the ‘linchpin’ of Italy’s defence.

So, stats don’t tell the whole story.

How much did Liverpool pay for Giovanni Leoni?

Liverpool signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma in the 2025 summer transfer window for an initial £26m (plus add-ons).

The teenager joined the Premier League outfit on a six-year contract.

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