Liverpool put one more boot into Newcastle United on transfer deadline day signing £26m defender linked with Toon
Liverpool and Newcastle United had been in a summer-long battle in the transfer market that has led to quite a bit of acrimony between the two fanbases and has even strained professional relationships.
The Athletic have done a deep dive into the Alexander Isak transfer, and in it, they speak of how Eddie Howe's relationship with Richard Hughes (Liverpool's sporting director) and Fenway Sports' CEO Michael Edwards, with whom he had previously enjoyed good relationships.
The Reds also beat Newcastle to the signing of France forward Hugo Ekitike, which at the time seemed like pure spite by the Premier League champions, although that aforementioned Athletic article states that they had been in touch with Ekitike since January.
Newcastle had been linked with Parma defender Geovanni Leoni, who also ended up at Liverpool in the summer, something their fans took great delight in pointing out.
Liverpool beat Newcastle to the signing of Giovanni Leoni
Arne Slot managed to bring in 18-year-old Parma defender Giovanni Leoni who had been previously linked with a move to Newcastle, although it never felt like a strong link, however it seems we may have been closer than we thought to signing the youngster.
The £26 million deal was obviously overshadowed by the record-breaking Isak transfer, but Newcastle were mentioned by the Parma CEO in an interview after Leoni's move to Liverpool, speaking to Parma Live.
“I've always said that the club, along with the owners, wanted to keep Giovanni, and he's always said he'd be happy to stay. We even turned down an offer from Newcastle, which was more advantageous than the one Liverpool eventually made.
“When the Reds came forward, our plans changed: both because the offer was very attractive and because Giovanni made it clear he was very happy to take advantage of this opportunity. On the one hand, it's obviously disappointing to have lost such a promising player, but on the other, there's pride in a club like ours and recognition for those who believed in this boy in unsuspecting times, when he'd only played a few games in Serie B.”
The PIF and PSR are keeping that gap to the 'Big Six' wide open
That's what Newcastle have had to deal with all summer - players choosing to go to 'bigger' clubs despite Newcastle making better offers.
It's a clear sign of the gap that Newcastle need to close, the gap that PSR is making it very difficult to narrow. And, let's be honest that the PIF are making it hard to narrow by stalling on the training ground and stadium developments, which is a direct result of the delay in appointing a new CEO.
We'll see what happens with these signings going forward and how each club's signings pan out over the course of the season.
