The news that Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are both set to stay at Liverpool was warmly welcomed by Reds fans around the globe — but while they were the biggest issues for the Reds to resolve ahead of the end of the season, they were not the only ones.
This summer could be one of significant upheaval at Anfield, with new faces required in a number of positions as Arne Slot looks to put his imprint on the squad. One suspects there will be several signings — and there will undoubtedly be several departures — but at the moment it is not clear whether Federico Chiesa will be among the players that leave Anfield in the off-season.
Chiesa’s situation is a curious one: he remains Slot’s only outfield signing, but he has not started a single Premier League game all season. The Italian was viewed as an opportunistic signing when Liverpool recruited him from Juventus last summer, paying just $13 million plus a further $3 million in possible add-ons for a player who was previously valued at over $100 million by his former club.
Many believe that a serious knee injury sustained by Chiesa in January 2022 caused him to permanently lose the explosiveness that made him one of Europe’s most dangerous wingers during the early stages of his career. At Liverpool, it has been impossible to tell whether that is the case as he simply hasn’t played often enough, but the fact that Slot watches him in training every day and hasn’t deemed him worthy of a single Premier League start suggests that something is not right.
Chiesa has made just 12 appearances across all competitions, nine of which have come as a substitute, and his total game time this season comes to around 400 minutes. The player’s struggles have led to him dropping out of contention at international level, with the former Fiorentina man having not played for his country since last summer’s European Championship.
(Image: Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Italy manager Luciano Spalletti said in January that he was in favor of Chiesa returning to Serie A to revive his ailing career. “I would be very favourable towards having Chiesa back in Italian football, so I could keep him under observation, to help him settle back in at this level,” Spalletti said. “There aren’t many players who are capable of look you in the eye and break through defensive lines one-on-one.”
Chiesa has indeed been linked with a swift return to Italy, with Napoli, Inter Milan, and Atalanta among the clubs who were credited with an interest in the player during the January transfer window. How Slot uses Chiesa in the final seven games of the season should go some way to clearing up whether the player figures in his and Liverpool’s long-term plans.
