KEY POINTS

  • Barella's link to Liverpool is seen as a tactic made by his agent to raise his value
  • Barella has also drawn interest from Manchester United
  • Inter Milan is in no rush to secure Barella, who has three more years in his current deal

Liverpool will be targeting different players, and one that was allegedly on the list is Nicolo Barella.

Unfortunately, it appears that all this has been shot down.

The 24-year-old was allegedly a target by the Reds and Manchester United following his move from Cagliari in 2019 and appearing in 63 matches for the Serie A champions.

Liverpool was reportedly ready to offer something for the Italian midfielder, allegedly around £60 million ($83.37 million) according to sources. It turns out that this allegation has been debunked.

A report from a Get Italian Football News editor quashed all that, alleging that reports of a Liverpool pitch to Barella were all planted by his agent.

He also suggested that it was also done to Alessandro Bastoni, ironically another player that the Reds were linked to.

"It seems, with Barella, that his agent has been using the interest from Premier League clubs to make sure that Inter meets the requirements for a new contract,” Kaustubh Pandey stated. "Barella has been linked with Liverpool and Manchester United, but that is a bit silly because he is probably going to sign a new deal.”

It appears the whole thing had other intentions with the agent of Barella using the interest of the English Premier League teams as leverage on Inter Milan contract talks, where they could potentially negotiate a good price.

Also, it would be weird to see I Nerazzurri let Barella walk. They already lost Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain and are expected to hang on to the loan deals they currently have.

Nicolo Barella of Italy
Nicolo Barella of Italy Getty Images | Claudio Villa

It was also reported by Calciomercato.com that Inter Milan wants to secure the Barella beyond the summer of 2024 when the Italian player’s contract expires.

They are confident that a new deal can be closed but are in no hurry since he still has three more years left in his current contract.

So unless something crazy happens moving forward, Barella is more likely to stay at Giuseppe Meazza on a long-term basis.

While this allegation could alter the course on where Barella may end up, the transfer rumor mill is not expected to stop.

But for now, it appears any shift to the Premier League for the midfielder is unlikely to take place.

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