Giovanni Leoni was one of 10 Liverpool signings this summer, and despite Newcastle offering a more appealing package to Parma, the centre-back was lured by the opportunity at Anfield.The 18-year-old arrived last month in a deal worth £26 million, signing a six-year contract upon his move from Parma after a breakout season in Serie A.He was a young centre-back Liverpool had been chasing for several years, but Liverpool were not the only ones to table an offer, with Newcastle having also made a move for Leoni.Not for the first or last time, the Magpies’ advances were ultimately rebuffed by the player, who could not say no to the opportunity of playing for Liverpool.In fact, Parma CEO, Federico Cherubini, told Gazzetta di Parma, via Parma Live, that Newcastle‘s offer was “more advantageous” than Liverpool’s, but it was the Reds who turned the 18-year-old’s head.“I’ve always said that the club, along with the owners, wanted to keep Giovanni, and he’s always said he’d be happy to stay,” Cherubini said.“We even turned down an offer from Newcastle, which was more advantageous than the one Liverpool eventually made.“When the Reds came forward, our plans changed: both because the offer was very attractive and because Giovanni made it clear he was very happy to take advantage of this opportunity.“On the one hand, it’s obviously disappointing to have lost such a promising player, but on the other, there’s pride in a club like ours and recognition for those who believed in this boy in unsuspecting times, when he’d only played a few games in Serie B.”It was a bruising summer for Newcastle as they had to move from one target to the next, while Liverpool enjoyed a statement summer only hampered by the collapse of Marc Guehi’s transfer.It will, in turn, likely hand Leoni, who has yet to make his debut, more opportunities in the short term as it is evident Slot has plans to use the Italian after a strong early impression. “If you look at his transfer fee, you can expect that he’s already quite grown up for his age, and that’s exactly what I saw,” Slot told reporters last month.“So he comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new teammates as if he’s here for longer.“Impressive if you look at how tall, fast, comfortable on the ball he is. There’s a reason why we paid the transfer fee we did, because we see him as a bright prospect.”