Arne Slot says Federico Chiesa would have been handed more chances to impress for Liverpool this season had he not been injured so often, also pointing to Mohamed Salah being stern competition for the lack of opportunities afforded to the Italian.
Chiesa came off the bench and scored at Wembley during the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle United before the international break. But he has featured for only 25 minutes in the Premier League since arriving from Juventus on a cut-price deal last summer.
“It wasn’t only that I didn’t see a lot of him during training sessions,” Slot said during his pre-Everton press conference. “It was also because he was also more than we wanted — and he wanted — injured.
“It was good to see that he impacted the game when he came in and that is what has happened this season already. Players come in and they impact the game. The assist was from Harvey Elliott who came on and impacted the game a few times now in the last few matches. It is good to see all these players are ready.
“That is partly my job but also the player’s job to stay ready for the moment we need them. [Chiesa] is in competition with Mo Salah and I don’t think you can deny that Mo had quite a good season, so that makes it sometimes tough for him.
“But we know we can trust him when we need him. Not only him, but also all of the other ones that maybe haven’t played as much as Mo and Virgil, but we can trust them when we need them.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Before the season ends, Chiesa could get a couple more chances to show what he can do. Liverpool is 12 points clear of Arsenal in the table and closing in on a 20th league title but faces a big summer with some major decisions looming.
Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes will be keen to add more quality into the Reds’ roster. But Liverpool stars such as Chiesa and Elliott, who have struggled for minutes already, will also hope to impress during pre-season.
Liverpool.com says: While the league title is not wrapped up just yet, it is not far away. When that is done, there should be a chance to give players like Chiesa and Elliott a bit more of an opportunity to shine.
Ahead of a big summer, that could be vital for those on the fringes. They haven’t had too many chances to show what they can do but Chiesa looked very sharp when he entered the pitch at Wembley and he took his goal well.
