Klopp plots Liverpool swoop for “top class” £61m ace, it could be bad news for Elliott - opinion...

There is much work to do at Liverpool.

The club will have to postpone its love affair with the Champions League, having missed out on qualification for the competition for the first time since 2016.

On top of this disappointment, the Reds have had to deal with multiple departures in the midfield - James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita have all left Anfield upon the expiry of their contracts.

Alexis Mac Allister has already been purchased to soften this blow and Nicola Barella is someone who has been linked to follow his footsteps to Merseyside.

What’s the latest on Nicolo Barella to Liverpool?

According to Sport Mediaset (via FC Inter News), Liverpool, both Manchester clubs and Newcastle are all keenly tracking the 26-year-old.

Last month, Football Insider revealed that Jurgen Klopp’s outfit were the frontrunners for the Inter midfielder, who is open to leaving Northern Italy and could be lured away for a fee of £61m.

Since making his debut for the Neazzurri in 2019, the Italian has been an imperious asset that has made vital contributions to his side’s recent success. 

In the title-winning 2020/21 season, Barella recorded 12 goal involvements and then crafted the joint-second highest number of assists (12) in Serie A in the following campaign, as his side also won the Italian Super Cup and the Coppa Italia.

His importance hasn't deterred, as he’s started 11 Champions League games during Inter’s unlikely journey to the final.

He has developed a reputation as a competent all-rounder, with a punishing ability to break up play and dance past opponents.

The box-to-box titan ranks within the top 11% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries, non-penalty goals, and shot-creating actions per 90.

Barella’s arrival could spell danger for Harvey Elliot, who fell down in his manager’s pecking during the latter stages of the campaign - the Reds went 11 league games unbeaten, winning eight in a row at one stage, but the former Fulham ace started just once in this period.

This term, the Euro 2020 winner has averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.6 key passes, and 1.1 dribbles per game, whereas Elliot only manages 0.8, 0.8, and 0.6 for the same metrics.

As Klopp seeks to pinpoint his main creative influence from midfield, it seems that Barella is the stronger, more well-rounded candidate.

Described as a “top-class” player by Klopp, the signing of Barella would be a massive statement of intent and a sizeable indication of the direction Liverpool are intending to head.