Liverpool are to sign Sampdoria keeper Daniele Padelli on a six month loan deal tomorrow, according to his agent Silvano Martina.
Martina said: “Padelli will travel to Liverpool this afternoon. The clubs have agreed on a six-month loan deal and the player is excited at the prospect of playing for Liverpool.”
21-year-old Padelli will need to undergo a medical before the deal is completed.
The highly-rated Padelli has been on loan at Serie B side Crotone since the start of the season. He went there with the intention of picking up some first-team football, but found himself on the bench for all but one league game.
With Pepe Reina firmly established as the first-choice keeper at the club, Padelli’s clearly not joining for six months with the intention of going back to Italy again at the end of the loan deal. Like the deal Liverpool are attempting to finalise for Argentinean Javier Mascherano, the six month loan deal will become permanent in the summer, once the takeover deal for Liverpool FC has been completed.
There have been a number of rumours recently that Pepe Reina is looking for a move back to Spain, because his is wife is homesick.
Meanwhile Argentinean youngster Sebastian Leto has spoken of his excitement at a possible move to Anfield. Although nothing has yet been confirmed, Liverpool are reported to have had a £1.85m bid accepted for the Lanus player, and the clubs are said to have agreed that Leto will remain in Argentina until the end of the season.
Leto said: “I am calm. Liverpool is a club with a lot of history. I do not fear the challenge. I've not spoken with Benitez, although I've seen a lot of Premiership matches on television.”
Answering questions about what kind of player he is and how he thinks he’ll find the English game, he said: “I'm a winger who likes to counter-attack. I don't anticipate struggling to adapt to life in England.”