Giovanni Leoni was one of the most interesting players of the past Serie A season. Born in 2006, with a remarkable physique and great personality in a Parma side that managed to stay up. Carlo Pellegatti, in a video on his YouTube channel, speaks about Milan’s interest in the defender:
“It’s a Milan-Inter derby and we’re talking about Giovanni Leoni. Born in 2005, 1.95 meters tall, one of the few high-level prospects in Italian football. Rino Gattuso, among the players he wants to soon see in his National Team, has already identified Giovanni Leoni, a Parma player. Why are we talking about a derby? Because, also due to their mutual knowledge—Chivu of Leoni, Leoni of Chivu—it seemed like he was a fairly authoritative candidate for Inter’s future defense. But news in the past few hours speaks of serious interest from Milan for the defender. A Milan that wants to mix young players with experienced ones, for the right cocktail compromise which we hope can become a winning formula for the future. The cost of Giovanni Leoni is not low—let’s say between 20 and 30 million euros: for a player born in 2006, that’s a lot."
Pellegatti continued to talk about Milan-linked talent Giovanni Leoni:
"We’ve already seen him dominate physically and in terms of personality. What’s the situation? We spoke of a theoretical advantage for Inter, but Milan, according to the latest reports, is now seriously getting involved. While Furlani and the ownership are always cautious about spending money on players they consider money wasted—wrongly in my opinion—when it comes to players aged 30–32, the amount Milan is allocating for this season keeps rising, and soon, by selling all the players they want to sell, we’ll reach 150 million; at that point, 25–30 for Leoni becomes a solid investment. While Milan’s directors are reluctant to invest in older players, they are quite convinced that investing in young players is important—let alone someone born in 2006. So, attention: headline—Milan are after Giovanni Leoni, a derby for Leoni.”
