Liverpool fans have been in awe of Giovanni Leoni’s physique and stature on the first day of pre-season testing.
The Italian centre-half made himself available for the first day back at the AXA training centre, alongside the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and a swathe of first-team talents.
The former Parma centre-half is already proving to be a popular figure among the Anfield faithful despite an unfortunate injury setback in 2025/26 derailing his debut campaign in England.
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As Leoni took part in the first day of team training, fans couldn’t help but remark on the footballer’s remarkable size in the comments section on YouTube.
“My God, Leoni is an absolute unit,” said @timothymurray1236.
“Leoni looks like a tank, can’t wait to see him play again,” said @BasicallyVader.
“Leoni is a beast, so excited to see more of him,” said @MB24890.
“Leoni is a BEAST,” said @apea_dw.
“Leoni already looking a monster now,” said @AnfieldVoiceTv.
There’s something quite nice about having a centre-back partnership that stands at 6′ 5″ (Leoni) and 6′ 3″ (Jeremy Jacquet) respectively.
In an era of Premier League football defined by physicality and threat from (and defending) set pieces, Liverpool have put their best foot forward in landing two of Europe’s most elite defenders. And, critically, at a height befitting of the English top-flight’s physicality.
The big question now, of course, is to what capacity either defender will kick on this season after having dealt with serious injury issues the campaign prior.
With Ibrahima Konate out the door and Joe Gomez’s availability far from guaranteed over a stretch of games, we certainly wouldn’t wish to see the pair rushed into action ahead of what we hope will be a long career at L4.
Hopefully, we’ll see an experienced option brought in – or, at the very least, another body – who can allow the two to develop at their own pace without leaving Virgil van Dijk with too much to do at 35 years of age.
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Great signings but lets not waste silly money on Barcola. Overpriced and surely we can find better bargains. Barcola was disappointing against Spain so lets look for someone else at a more reasonable fee. PSG would not let him leave if he was that good. They are buying players who can improve the team so why can’t we find them?
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