Steven Gerrard talks Nicolo Barella transfer from Liverpool with confrontation with Jude Bellingham

Nicolo Barella was the engine behind Inter’s rampant 2-0 victory over rivals AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final first leg, while Liverpool’s transfer goal came in handy following Steven Gerrard’s praise

Steven Gerrard has lent his support to Liverpool in their hunt for Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella by praising his performance against Jude Bellingham.

Barella, 26, returned to action on Wednesday as he helped Inter dominate arch-rivals AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final, his side winning the one-way first leg 2-0. Former Premier League stars Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan each scored in the first 11 minutes for Inter to give Simone Inzaghi’s men a decisive lead in the second leg.

In midfield, Barella was the engine and he produced another impressive performance worthy of his reported price tag of €70m (£62m). Liverpool have long been linked to the Italy international and since abandoning their pursuit of Bellingham, the Reds’ attention has been focused on finding an alternative midfielder to jump-start Jurgen Klopp’s rebuilding. Before the match, the legend of Liverpool, Gerrard, congratulated Barella to report his brilliant opinion about him and to refer to a collision between Dynamo, 26 and Bellingham, during the qualification of Euro 2024 in March. “He is creative, he can achieve important goals,” started the former Captain of Reds BT Sport.

“I looked at him against England in Naples and he was involved in all the games of the match. He did really well against the English midfielder – Jew Bellingham and Declan Rice.”

Bellingham England took the lead that evening and won 2-1 from his home, and Barella went a long way after the hour. Gerrard wasn’t the only pundit to praise the Italian midfielder, as former team-mate Peter Crouch wholeheartedly agreed after watching Barella score in every leg of Inter Milan’s quarter-final win against the Portuguese giants of Benfica, which produced a mouthwatering clash booked with city foes Milan in the semi-final.

“He was key in Benfica’s matches,” confirmed the former Liverpool striker. “He has fantastic feet, also tenacious and discreet in tackling. He made the difference in the first game. There are many admirers, including Liverpool at the moment.”

If the reports are to be believed, Crouch is right. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter could be forced to sell Barella in the summer transfer window if they fail to finish in the top four of Serie A or win the Champions League, one of the two things guaranteeing them qualification for the top European competition next season .

They add that the Reds’ interest in the Inter hub has grown since Klopp and his teammates conceded defeat against Bellingham, but Paris Saint-Germain are also interested. Marco Verratti, Barella’s teammate at international level, is evaluating his future with the French giants who could open up a vacancy in midfield.

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