Report: Juventus Pulls Out of Race to Sign Liverpool Target Nicolo Barella
Liverpool have been boosted in their pursuit of Nicolo Barella after Italian giants Juventus pulled out of the race to sign the midfielder.
CalcioMercato report that Juventus were the first club to make contact with Barella over a potential transfer, but the Old Lady have been deterred as Cagliari are understood to be demanding more than €35m for the 21-year-old.
The Reds, however, still face competition from a variety of Italian sides, including Inter, Roma and AC Milan. The most serious threat to Liverpool's transfer is rumored to be AC Milan, with manager Gennaro Gattuso keen to add the Italian to his squad.
If the Merseyside club were successful in their bid to sign Barella, the midfielder would face fierce competition for a starting spot. This summer, Liverpool signed Naby Keita and Fabinho, while James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson all remained at the club.
The Premier League side secured their first win in the Champions League this season with a 3-2 victory over French champions PSG. Liverpool seemed destined for a draw but substitute Roberto Firmino's goal ensured that they topped the group after a testing game.
Speaking after the game, as quoted by Sky Sports, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: "If you play against PSG you have to step up, you have to reach the next level. You play 95 percent and you lose 5-0, 100 percent and you win the game.
"Denying them so often, I don't think a lot of teams have done that," the German continued: "it was necessary we played good, the atmosphere was fantastic, so special to do these things in this stadium. One, two, three years ago the people would have thought that's a mountain we cannot climb."
Klopp added: "it's still so unbelievably difficult, you can't plan it. What the boys make of the match plan is extraordinary, it's outstanding. If one of them gave a yard less, game over."
