As reported by The Metro this afternoon, mooted suitors Manchester United and Liverpool have missed out on signing Genoa prodigy Mattia Perin – dubbed by some as the ‘next Gigi Buffon’.
The 22 year-old goalkeeper is one of Italian football’s hottest prospects and currently ranks third in the Serie A saves charts, with 75 saves in 26 league appearances, just behind Sassuolo’s Andrea Consigli and Atalanta’s Marco Sportiello.
Having shown great promise at such a tender age, many have compared the Genoa No.1 to Juventus icon Gianluigi Buffon, who joined the Turin outfit for an incredible £30million when he was just 23 years of age.
Manchester United and Liverpool were both keen on a summer deal for the one-cap Italy international – as reported by The Daily Star – the former considering replacements for Real Madrid-linked David De Gea and the latter wanting an upgrade on Simon Mignolet.
But Perrin has now confirmed that he’ll stay at Stadio Luigi Ferraris for at least another season, telling reporters; “I have a contract until 2017 and that’s not a huge amount, but not a small amount either. The president knows what I want. I will be at Genoa next season, 100%. You can underline it, I will be playing for Genoa next year.”