Get LeBron James on the phone! Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella would help Liverpool fans get over Jude Bellingham blow

Jurgen Klopp and his colleagues are certainly well aware of Barella's qualities. On the Friday before Liverpool faced Inter in a Champions League clash at San Siro last year, the coaching team sat down to watch the Nerazzurri in Serie A action against Salernitana.

Barella was running the show and, at one point, assistant manager Pep Lijnders burst out laughing, overjoyed by the fact that the midfielder was suspended for their last-16 tie.

"We were in the middle of a discussion but I was watching the game with one eye and saw Barella play another incredible pass," the Dutchman wrote in his book 'Intensity: Inside Liverpool FC'.

"'I'm just so happy that he doesn't feature against us,' I said. 'Every attack starts with him, it's scary.'"

Just three days later, Klopp was singing from the same hymn sheet in his pre-match press conference.

"That Barella is not able to play is good for us," the German admitted to reporters. "He's a really good player, a really good player and I like him a lot.

"He has all the things you want from a midfield player: he is aggressive, he is technical, he can run for ages and all these kinds of things. That's a top-class player."

Which is exactly what Liverpool need this summer.

Barella's talent has been obvious since he first broke into the Cagliari senior side. Here was an all-action all-rounder, a fiery and seemingly indefatigable figure just as adept at starting attacks as breaking them up.

Coaching legend Fabio Capello compared him to the great Marco Tardelli and correctly predicted that he would quickly become an integral part of the Italy team.

"Barella's the player who can change the tempo in midfield," the former AC Milan and Real Madrid boss told Radio Anch'io Sport. "He gives something more in terms of quality and quantity, which we lacked before."

He wasn't wrong. Barella is probably the first name on Roberto Mancini's team sheet, and has been for some time.

Indeed, since the coach's appointment in 2018, no player has made more appearances (43) or scored more goals (eight) for Italy than Barella, whom Mancini has described as "the complete player".

There were certainly few better box-to-box midfielders on show in 2021 - a year in which Barella won both the Serie A title and the European Championship.

There is no denying that he hasn't quite been at his best this season, though. Barella hasn't underperformed as badly as some of his Inter team-mates, but he does perhaps personify the inconsistency that has plagued Simone Inzaghi's side.

He's certainly not proven as effective as he was under previous coach Antonio Conte, whom Barella credits with not only improving him on a technical and tactical level, but also from a psychological perspective.

This is a player that relished playing at "100 kilometres an hour" and has always appeared perfectly suited to Klopp's high-octane brand of football.

Barella himself has never hidden the fact that he would enjoy the intensity of English football. "If I had to choose between Serie A and the Premier League, I’d go for the Premier League, because I like the way the English approach the game," he told the Gazzetta.

"Plus everyone there is just as irritable and prone to fouls as me!"

He would certainly bring a mix of aggression and dynamism that has been conspicuous by its absence in the Liverpool midfield this season.

At his best, as he was against Benfica in the first leg of Inter's Champions League quarter-final, he is almost impossible to contain.

As the Corriere dello Sport wrote, "In Lisbon, we saw the best version of Barella again, and not only for the goal that opened the door to Inter’s victory. He was the classic Barella, meaning he was everywhere!"

The Gazzetta, meanwhile, called him "Inter's soul", which is precisely why they would be so unwilling to sell him this summer.

Barella is considered the obvious choice to succeed Samir Handanovic as club captain, and his commitment to the cause is obvious every single time he sets foot on the field. He has such a will to win that he has even clashed with one of his own team-mates, Romelu Lukaku, this season.

"He is so motivated," Inzaghi told reporters after the 0-0 draw with Sampdoria in February. "The desire can at times spill over, but we all know what kind of person he is."

The kind of character that Klopp would love, essentially.

There has been some doubt over whether he would really be willing to leave Inter for Liverpool, given the Reds won't be playing Champions League football next season, and it's a fair point.

However, there is no guarantee that Inter will secure a top-four finish in Serie A either. Furthermore, Barella has shown himself to be someone that will do best for his career.

He left Cagliari in acrimonious circumstances and some supporters still haven't forgiven him for departing, but he's never had any regrets.

"I have a strong bond with Sardinia and I'm sorry if some people didn’t understand my choice," he explained in 2019. "I've always given everything to Cagliari and now I'll do the same with Inter because I’m a professional."

This is not a character who's ever really been motivated by money. He received bigger offers from elsewhere before joining Inter in 2019 because he had his heart set on playing under Antonio Conte at San Siro.

Essentially, if Barella feels that Klopp can offer him a better chance to improve as a player at Liverpool rather than Inter, in a league that he clearly loves, he would likely accept.

The price could yet prove prohibitive, though. It has been claimed in some sections of the press that he might be available for as little as £50m ($62m), but that is simply not going to happen unless Inter's financial situation significantly worsens between now and the start of the next season.

That is not beyond the realms of possibility of course. Suning, the club's Chinese owners, have significantly scaled back their level of investment in Inter over the past couple of seasons due to economic issues stemming from the pandemic.

But they know the value of Barella, who is under contract until 2026, and have no intention of letting him leave on the cheap. It would take an offer closer to €80m (£70m/$88m) to get Inter to the negotiating table.

Would he be worth such a fee? Absolutely. Even in a relatively mediocre season by his standards, he has still managed seven goals and as many assists in all competitions.

He still ranks among the very best midfielders in Serie A in terms of chances created, dribbles completed and successful passes into the final third.

There is genuinely little that Barella cannot do. As Klopp said, he has all the things you want from a midfielder. So, maybe it's finally time to get LeBron on the phone...