Back in the summer of 2018, when the Gazzetta dello Sport was calling Nicolo Barella 'The Sardinian Steven Gerrard', Liverpool were linked with a move for the Cagliari academy product. There was even giddy talk of the Reds enlisting the help of their most famous stakeholder, LeBron James, to persuade Barella to move to Merseyside, given the Italian's love of the basketball icon.
In reality, Liverpool were quite content with their midfield options at the time, with Fabinho and Naby Keita having only just arrived at Anfield.
It might be worth giving LeBron a call now, though.
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Liverpool's engine room is in dire need of an overhaul, as underlined by the fact that they've had to abandon their pursuit of primary transfer target Judge Bellingham because they simply cannot afford to commit so much money to one player when so many reinforcements are required.
Barella certainly wouldn't come cheap himself, but there's no denying that his arrival would certainly soften the Bellingham blow. The Italy international is a potentially transformative force in his own right.