One thing Italy boss Roberto Mancini did recently shows exactly what he thinks of Giovanni Leoni
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Giovanni Leoni appears to be firmly in the mind of Italy head coach Roberto Mancini, judging by one recent report from his homeland.The Liverpool defender has been out injured for more than a year after rupturing his ACL on his debut for the Reds against Southampton in September 2025, with the 19-year-old since undergoing a lengthy road to recovery.Despite some hopes that he’d resume team training during the most recent international window a month ago, Andoni Iraola has since indicated that such a step will hopefully be taken during the upcoming round of national team fixtures in mid-November.Even though Leoni hasn’t played a match of any description for more than 13 months, it seems that he hasn’t been forgotten by Mancini.Mancini had hoped to see Leoni in actionAccording to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italy head coach travelled to England in the hope of seeing the Liverpool defender (among several other candidates for Azzurri selection) on the pitch, but the teenager hadn’t recovered in time for the 61-year-old’s visit.The report stated that the Reds’ number 15 ‘may return after the international break’, although that didn’t specify whether it’d be in the form of team training or clearance to finally resume playing. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)Want more Empire of the Kop coverage?
Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustThat should give Leoni a huge confidence boostEven with Leoni sidelined for so long, that Mancini reportedly wanted to see him in action on his vist to England attests to how highly the Italy boss regards the Liverpool defender.The heartbreaking ACL injury overshadowed just how well the centre-back played on his Reds debut against Southampton before the cruellest intervention of fate, and the ex-Manchester City manager clearly has plenty of faith in the 19-year-old’s abilities.The day that the young Italian is finally back in action will be one to cherish, although it’ll naturally take him time to get back into the rhythm of playing after being ruled out for 13 months and counting.He could also have a difficult task on his hands trying to break up the uncompromising centre-back partnership of Virgil van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet, with the latter particularly excelling since coming to Liverpool from Rennes in the summer.Right now, though, simply getting back on the pitch will represent a seminal moment for Leoni, who should be given a tremendous boost by knowing that Mancini has him in his plans for the Italy squad.