Liverpool are reportedly among a host of European giants with eyes on a potential swoop for a teenage Italian prodigy.
According to 90min, the Reds have ‘made overtures’ to the family of Francesco Camarda, who became the youngest player in Serie A history when featuring for AC Milan in their win over Fiorentina on Saturday aged just 15 years, eight months and 15 days.
However, competition for the teenager is fierce, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund also believed to be showing an interest.
Regulations prevent him from signing a professional contract before he turns 16 in March, so the Rossoneri are thought to be ‘worried’ about the possibility of losing him prior to then, although it’s understood that his family are settled in the Italian city, and he’s likely to commit his future to his current club.
Even if an injury crisis saw Milan fast-track Camarda into their senior side at the weekend – securing special dispensation from the Italian FA, who generally prohibit anyone under the age of 16 from playing first-team football (90min) – that he was entrusted with the call-up speaks volumes about his potential.
Rossoneri manager Stefano Pioli has described the striker as a ‘very mature’ youngster who’s destined for ‘a great future (90min), and his record at youth levels is eye-watering, with more than 400 goals for the San Siro club’s underage teams.
To put into context how young the forward is, he was born one day before Fernando Torres scored Liverpool’s winner against Inter Milan at the aforementioned stadium in the last 16 of the 2007/08 Champions League.
With Camarda reportedly happy at his current club, and considering the volume and prestige of the reported suitors for the 15-year-old, it’ll likely take an exceptionally appetising proposal from the Reds to entice the Serie A record breaker to opt for a move to Anfield.
Still, as we showed with the acquisition of Ben Doak, the LFC hierarchy aren’t averse to swooping for a talented teenage forward if they believe the player in question has the ability to forge their way into Jurgen Klopp’s first team.
We can expect to hear plenty more of the Milan prodigy over the coming weeks and months.