(Video) ‘Huge goal threat’ – Carragher talks up Liverpool target who’s been likened to Elliott

Jamie Carragher has spoken highly of Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella amid reported transfer interest from Liverpool.

Calciomercato reported last month that the 26-year-old is high on Jurgen Klopp’s list of targets for the summer, and it’s a proposed move which certainly has the approval of the former Anfield defender.

The 45-year-old discussed the Reds’ links with the Italy international during punditry duty for Paramount+ on Tuesday night (via CBS Sports Golazo on Twitter) and was full of praise for the Azzurri ace.

Carragher said: “I think he’s probably one of the best in Europe playing in that tucked in, right sided central midfield position. He’s box to box, he gets goals from there. We saw how outstanding he was for his national team in winning the European Championships.

“He’s that player who can open things up, he gets in there, but that inside right position now is so important in football and can you make runs from that position? He makes runs ahead of the striker. And he’s a huge goal threat.

“Any top team needs to have goals from midfield. It’ll be really interesting if he actually stays at Inter but you think one day would he go the Premier League or one of the Spanish giants because I certainly think he has the ability to do so.”

Barella has a tidy if unspectacular goal record for a central midfielder, with 10 for Inter since the beginning of last season, and he is very adept at setting up his team-mates, boasting 21 assists in the same timeframe (Transfermarkt).

Interestingly, FBref cites Harvey Elliott among the five most comparable players to the 26-year-old, who ranks among the top 15% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues for attack-minded metrics such as assists, non-penalty goals, shot-creating actions and successful dribbles.

This transfer rumour could be one to watch between now and the summer.

You can watch Carragher’s comments in full via @CBSSportsGolazo on Twitter:

Is Nicolò Barella one of the best midfielders in the world?@carra23 is a fan of the Italian midfielder. pic.twitter.com/IEYpxIjXGZ

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 14, 2023

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