Italian football expert claims Sandro Tonali would be perfect for Liverpool

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UDINE, ITALY – MARCH 27: Sandro Tonali of Italy U19 in action during the Elite Round U19 match between Italy and Czech Republic on March 27, 2018 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images) /

An Italian football expert has claimed that Liverpool linked Sandro Tonali would be a perfect fit for the club.

Rush The Kop asked Football Radar‘s resident Serie B analyst Peter Pankovski (@FRcalcioPeter) what he thought about Tonali and whether the youngster could cut it at Premier League level.

The 18-year-old was linked with a move to Anfield by ESPN, among others, as Jurgen Klopp appears to be looking towards the next few years.

After a breakthrough campaign with Brescia, Tonali has been called up to the Italy first team and appears to be set for big things.

But football has seen plenty of youngsters lauded early before fading away to nothing – so we thought it was only proper to do some due diligence on the youngster.

And things got off to a flyer after Pankovski talked about how Tonali could compliment Naby Keita, but he did so with a warning to a current Liverpool squad member.

So scroll down and click through the slides to read what the Italian football expert has to say about the latest man to be linked with an Anfield move.

Unless otherwise stated, all the text below comes from the lips of Pankovski.

GENK, BELGIUM – NOVEMBER 19: Sandro Tonali of Italy looks on during a training session on November 19, 2018 in Genk, Belgium. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images) /

Would Tonali fit the style of play?

I think Tonali would fit fantastically at Liverpool. His movement, mobility, tackling ability and passing skill is something Klopp was looking for in Keita. However, Tonali is an idea more defensive minded compared to Keita, who is a classical box-to-box midfielder. Regardless, as stated, the Italian fits Liverpool to perfection, almost, especially, as he would most likely displace Jordan Henderson from the team.

Would the youngster be able to make the step up to Premier League level?

Yes. Serie B and Italian football in general has always been more on the physical side. What I mean by this is not just to be physically ready for tough football. I mean to have the legs to be able to give it your all throughout the game.

Similarly, Brescia like to press their opponents and put pressure on the ball holder constantly, as much as they possibly could. Not only that, Liverpool are known to be a tight side, moving the ball fast in quick transition.

Tonali is already somewhat used to that. Even if it’s a different speed and level, his style is pretty similar, but I’ll get to that in a second.