Club could be open to selling Liverpool target who Carragher dubbed ‘outstanding’ – report

Inter Milan are reportedly open to parting with Liverpool transfer target Nicolo Barella, according to reports from Italy.

Calciomercatoweb have reported that the Nerazzurri could be willing to sell the 26-year-old for €50m (£44m) as they look for ways to fund the summer investment they’re hoping to pull off, with the Reds and Chelsea both monitoring his situation.

The report labelled the Italian midfielder ‘the negative protagonist of somewhat disappointing performances’, having shown ‘obvious limitations from a character point of view’ amid on-field arguments with some teammates.

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One man who’d certainly love to see Barella coming to Liverpool is Jamie Carragher, who last month issued some glowing praise of the player.

The Anfield legend said on punditry duty for CBS Sports: “I think he’s probably one of the best in Europe playing in that tucked-in, right-sided central midfield position. He’s box-to-box, he gets goals from there. We saw how outstanding he was for his national team in winning the European Championship.”

Statistics from FBref suggest that the 26-year-old would add plenty of attacking impetus to the Reds’ midfield.

He ranks among the top 10% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past 365 days for progressive passes played and received, assists and shot-creating actions, proving adept at making things happen in the final third.

However, one barrier Liverpool may need to overcome is his £157k-per-week wage (FBref), which would place him seventh among the current Reds squad.

Inter’s apparent willingness to be shorn of his supposed character ‘limitations’ could also be a red flag, so for all Barella’s evident talents, a £44m outlay on such a player could be risky.

If the Reds are successful in their pursuits of other midfield targets such as Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount and James Maddison, there mightn’t be a need for the Italian at Anfield. It’s one to file away for future reference rather than chasing all-out.

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