Federico Chiesa Liverpool truth clear amid transfer reports and demands from Italy

Federico Chiesa Liverpool truth clear amid transfer reports and demands from Italy

Federico Chiesa has been linked with a swift Liverpool exit but reports in Italy might be somewhat premature

Federico Chiesa of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images )

With the January transfer window looming on the horizon, reports in Italy continue to link Federico Chiesa with a swift Liverpool exit. Earlier this week, it was even claimed that his agent had been sounding out interest from the likes of Inter Milan and AS Roma over a possible loan move.

Meanwhile, former Italy star Antonio Cassano showed himself to be rather potty-mouthed when launching into an impassioned questioning of the forward’s lack of game-time at Anfield.

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Considered one of the Azzuri’s star players, it would appear that they are most concerned that Chiesa has been limited to just 78 minutes of action since joining the Reds in a deal worth up to £12m at the end of August.

Yet there is no particularly sinister reason behind his absence. Rather than Liverpool exiling one of Italy’s finest, he is instead still adapting after a torrid end to his Juventus career.

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Banished by incoming Old Lady manager Thiago Motta, the forward was not afforded any sort of legitimate pre-season with the Juventus first-team squad. This meant no pre-season friendlies to get up to speed, with Chiesa instead thrown in the deep end somewhat when linking up at Anfield.

Handed his full Liverpool debut against West Ham United in the League Cup on September 25, that remains his only start since Italy were knocked out of Euro 2024 in the round-of-16 by Switzerland back on June 29 - 139 days ago.

There have been slight injuries and it has taken time for Chiesa to adapt to the intensity required in England. But in Arne Slot’s latest injury update, he confirmed that the Italian was due to return to training during the November international break.

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“I would not use the word concern but it is far from ideal for him and us," Slot said earlier this month. "Because with the injury of Dioga (Jota) we have four attackers available, so this could have been a great moment for him to get more playing time.

"It is difficult for a player who missed out on pre-season and playing pre-season games and training sessions. You have to give a player more time to get to the intensity levels.

"It is a difficult balance to get him where we want but we are trying and he is trying everything he can to get to these levels.

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"Once he is at that physical level we will benefit from having him. At this moment we expect him back during the international break and then he should be with us after the international break normally."

While Harvey Elliott is currently training with Liverpool Under-21s following his own return from injury during the break, there has not yet been any public confirmation that Chiesa has done the same.

Consequently, time will tell if the forward is on schedule with Slot’s anticipated return date, with the Dutchman next due to face the media at the end of next week ahead of his side’s trip to Southampton.

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But in a season where very little has gone wrong for Liverpool, with the Reds winning 15 of their 17 matches so far to top both the Premier League and Champions League tables and reach the League Cup quarter-finals, the plight of Chiesa has been one bug-bear for those who like their glasses half-empty.

Having suffered an ACL injury with Juventus back in January 2022, his injury record has been an accompanying cloud over his head ever since. And that’s despite the fact that he actually only sat out six of Juventus’ 43 matches last season as they finished third in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia, while he returned a respectable 10 goals and three assists from 37 appearances.

It would appear a little premature to suggest his current absence strengthens any claims that Liverpool signed an injury-prone dud. This is a player the Reds have monitored for years, after all, preceding his electrifying form back at Euro 2020, and are willing to be patient with.

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It was always going to be a challenge for Chiesa to adjust to Premier League football and Liverpool’s demands, regardless of when he joined the Reds. Signed at the end of August, without any sort of pre-season and with such a lengthy gap between appearances (80 days), the challenge facing him was always going to be even more uphill.

As Liverpool’s only summer addition to Slot’s inherited squad, frustration in the fanbase (and in Italy) is understandable. But to write him off already is simply unfair. Patience is a virtue.

And Kopites only need to look at the transformation in one of Chiesa’s team-mates this season to see the benefit of such. In Ryan Gravenberch, the Italian has the perfect inspiration to find his feet at Anfield.

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Like Chiesa, the Dutchman was a player Liverpool had monitored for a number of years. Like the 22-year-old, he joined the Reds right at the end of the summer transfer window.

And only on the fringes at Bayern Munich, after a campaign where he made just five starts in the Bundesliga and Champions League, his pre-season with the German giants prior to moving to Anfield in a £40m switch was far from ideal.

He earned the wrath of Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman by rejecting an Under-21s international call-up in a bid to help settle sooner at Anfield. But while Gravenberch’s first season with Liverpool was certainly superior to his solitary campaign in Munich, it was far from plain sailing.

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The 22-year-old endured a mixed first season as he struggled for consistency. Also battling injury, he found himself in and out of Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI as a result.

Making 38 appearances last season in all competitions, only 21 of them came from the start - with only 12 of them coming in the Premier League.

But now enjoying his second year with the Reds under Arne Slot, Gravenberch has been one of their very best players. Boasting 15 appearances after cementing his place at number six, he hasn’t missed a minute in the Premier League or Champions League.

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After a difficult time in Germany and another switch to a foreign league and country, the midfielder might have taken his time to settle but now he is thriving. Consequently, any doubts about him last season have been silenced emphatically.

If we’re being fair to Chiesa, his acclimatisation has been even tougher, given his treatment by Juventus.

All being well, now closing in on a return, Liverpool will be hoping the Italy international can follow Gravenberch’s example to silence those transfer reports back in his home country, and his doubters, once and for all.

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