Arne Slot has promised Federico Chiesa that he will play at least one more game for Liverpool this season in order to guarantee himself a Premier League winner’s medal.
The Italian will of course be part of the celebrations at the end of the month as Liverpool lifts the title, having been crowned champion following last weekend’s win over Tottenham. However, he is one of a very small group of players not currently guaranteed to pick up a medal.
Premier League rules dictate that a player must have played a minimum of five league games in order to be eligible for a medal. Ahead of the game against Chelsea, Chiesa stands on just four, meaning he isn’t automatically guaranteed to receive a medal.
The winning club is however given 40 medals to distribute among players and staff as they see fit, meaning Chiesa would likely earn himself a medal regardless of whether he plays again this season or not.
Slot though has taken any doubt out of the equation by promising Chiesa that he will make at least one more appearance before the end of the season, whether that is from bench or from the start.
The winger has often at times this season found himself out of the matchday squad despite being fit. Having made the $13 million move from Juventus last summer, Chiesa has only made 12 appearances across all competitions.
(Image: Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
He will however get some more game time over the next few weeks.
“There’s one player that if everybody was fit, then he was mostly not with us, that’s Federico Chiesa,” Slot told Sky Sports ahead of the meeting with Chelsea on Sunday.
“But he’s also on four games, and people told me in this country you only get a medal if you’re on five, so this gives me the chance to give him his fifth game, either today or in the upcoming three games.
“That he definitely deserves, so he will be on the pitch, maybe all four times, but definitely one time.”
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Slot stayed true to his word as he rotated his squad at Stamford Bridge, with no chance that his side can now be caught at the top of the Premier League table.
Six changes were made, with Ryan Gravenberch left out of the matchday squad completely, while Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz dropped to the bench.
Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Diogo Jota were all handed starts as Slot looks to reward his squad over the coming weeks.
“They definitely deserve to get playing time, they’ve done really well throughout the whole season,” the Liverpool boss added. “Every time we’ve needed them, they did almost every time really well.”
