Liverpool fans appear unwilling to give up on Federico Chiesa just yet.
The Italian forward has struggled to break his way into the first-team picture under Arne Slot after arriving at Anfield from Juventus for an initial £10million fee last summer.
Federico Chiesa has endured a difficult first season at Anfield[/caption]
Chiesa has managed just 387 minutes across 11 appearances this season, scoring twice – just 25 of those minutes have come in the Premier League.
His standout moment from what has been a challenging adaptation to English football was a goal in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle last month when he netted a last-gasp consolation goal for the Reds.
The 27-year-old will be looking to build on his cup final cameo as Liverpool close in on the Premier League title but that will mean adding to his total of just three Premier League appearances.
But fans appear ready to get behind the Italian particularly after video clips of him in training surfaced on social media.
Liverpool posted snippets of the club’s attackers in target practice and of all people, it was Chiesa who stole the show with a selection of fine finishes prompting fans to give their backing to the star on social media.
One fan wrote: “Chiesa at centre forward seems the way to go.”
A second added: “Lots of Fede footage please give him a start Arne.”
Another wrote: “Fede in the starting XI.”
A fourth added: “Fede looking sharp.”
A final fan added: “Fede needs to play vs Everton man. Deserves it after Newcastle. Hope Slot thinks so too.”
LFCThe Italian showed he hasn’t lost his eye for goal[/caption]
His lack of game time has seen Chiesa linked with a move back to his homeland with Napoli reportedly interested in a deal this summer.
Napoli boss Antonio Conte is an admirer of the player and is tracking Chiesa’s situation on Merseyside.
His future could depend on Mohamed Salah‘s next steps with the Egyptian appearing to be inch closer to extending his stay at Anfield.
Meanwhile, doubts remain over the future of Luis Diaz while striker Darwin Nunez is likely to move on this summer.
Should Diaz depart the club then Chiesa could be given licence to make the left flank his own next season however much will depend on how he ends the current campaign.
Liverpool boss Slot previously claimed that a lack of pre-season and a poor run of luck have been the main factors as to why he is yet to hand Chiesa a run of games.
“Every player is unique, so each one has his own background,” Slot said. “Jota had a normal pre-season, well not normal as he was at the Euros, but he had a normal start with us and Federico did not.
“Federico was unlucky a few times when moments were there for him to play that he was ill or sick.
“And then we also saw how difficult it is, Jota is a great example, for a player who has been out for five, six, seven weeks, to bring him back to that load of playing every single game 60-90 minutes.
“You have to be really careful with that if you don’t want to go into another injury, especially because there is no winter break and there is no time during the weeks to give them a game.
“Unless I have to play them with the U21s, but I don’t think a player like Federico Chiesa or Diogo Jota should play in those games. That makes it hard if a player gets injured to bring them back.”
For now, Chiesa has his sights set on a rare start in Wednesday’s Merseyside derby against Everton with the Reds hoping to build on the 12 point lead over second placed Arsenal.
Five wins from their last nine games will be enough to hand Liverpool a record-equaling 20th top-flight title.
The Reds have just the Premier League to focus on after crashing out of the FA Cup and Champions League in recent weeks.
