Liverpool scouts were reportedly in attendance during a variety of Euro 2024 qualifying fixtures in recent days, and they’ll have enjoyed what they witnessed from one player in particular.
According to 90min, representatives from Anfield were present at San Siro for the clash between Italy and Ukraine on Tuesday night, with Giorgio Scalvini believed to be one of those being monitored.
The report mentioned that the Merseysiders have been ‘keeping abreast of his situation as they put plans in place for strengthening in central defence’, and the 19-year-old is sure to have sent the LFC delegation home with some glowing feedback.
Scalvini helped Italy to a 2-1 win on the occasion of his sixth senior cap (Transfermarkt), and his performance was pivotal to Luciano Spalletti’s side leapfrogging their opponents to take second place in Group C behind England.
As per Sofascore, the Atalanta teenager took 108 touches (second-most of any Azzurri player), found a teammate with three of his four long balls and completed 95 of his 98 passes (97% success rate), proving to be incredibly composed in possession for such a young age.
The centre-back also came up trumps when he needed to focus on his core defensive duties. He made two clearances, two interceptions and two tackles and blocked one shot, along with winning all five duels that he contested, standing up to the physical challenge impeccably.
Such figures aren’t out of the norm for Scalvini, either. As per WhoScored, he’s averaged 3.3 successful aerial duels, 2.7 tackles and 2.3 clearances per Serie A game in the early weeks of the season.
He surpasses every player at Liverpool for the former metric, while only Ibrahima Konate at Anfield exceeds his tackling average (three per match), per WhoScored.
It remains to be seen if the Reds’ recruitment team act upon the feedback given to them by their scouts who were at the San Siro on Tuesday, but the report on the 19-year-old is bound to contain plenty of positive points.
#Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️