Arne Slot confirms next Liverpool transfer is agreed as he offers Marc Guehi response

Arne Slot has confirmed that Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Parma defender Giovanni Leoni.

Mirror Football revealed earlier this week that the Reds had entered talks to sign the highly-rated 18-year-old and they have wrapped up a deal quickly. The Italy under-19 international is under contract with Parma until June 2029 and is expected to cost around £30million.

"The clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn't signed. The moment he signs I can go into more detail," Slot said.

Slot has been keen to bolster his defence after growing concerned with the lack of depth in central defence. Liverpool soldJarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, leaving the injured Joe Gomez the most senior back up to Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

READ MORE: Crystal Palace want £40m Liverpool star as Marc Guehi swap 'not ruled out'

READ MORE: Liverpool 'reach verbal agreement' for Giovanni Leoni transfer with one obstacle remaining

They are also in negotiations to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace. The Palace captain has entered the final year of his deal with Palace and is keen to move to Anfield.

"The other one (Guehi) is the same answer I always give.," Slot added. "Can I talk more? No, he is not our player, unfortunately he was the captain of the team we lost against. If you want to talk about him, go to [Oliver] Glasner and Palace and ask them."

Liverpool have already spent over £300m to bring in Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Armin Pesci and Freddie Woodman, but want to strengthen their defence before potentially returning with another offer for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

Both Slot and Van Dijk identified the defence as the weakest aspect of the side after their defeat on penalties by Crystal Palace in the Community Shield. The Reds kept just one clean sheet during pre-season and looked vulnerable against Palace at Wembley on Sunday.

Leoni has only made 17 appearances for Parma, but is highly regarded in Italy. He will take time to settle on Merseyside, but Liverpool hope that Guehi will make an immediate impact and challenge Konate for a starting place.

They are hoping to sign him for between £30m and £35m, while Palace are holding out for £40m. Oliver Glasner is understood to be reluctant to lose his captain on the eve of the Premier League season, but may be powerless to stop him leaving.

Palace would face losing him for nothing next summer and have financial considerations after losing their Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal against UEFA's decision to demote them from the Europa League to the Conference League - a call that cost them an estimated £20m.

Meanwhile, Liverpool may still return for Isak, having seen an initial £120m bid rejected by Newcastle. Isak has gone on strike with the Magpies in an attempt to force through a move and Van Dijk has hinted that the squad are keen to bring him in.

"Well, we just lost Darwin [Nunez], he went to Saudi and we lost Lucho [Luis Diaz], obviously he went to Bayern,” he told talkSPORT on the weekend. “I think there's always room for an attacker in order to strengthen us so let's see what the window brings in terms of the balance of the team."