The Italy international’s fitness to contribute significantly to the 2024–25 campaign is currently seriously questioned.
Federico Chiesa observed Anfield outside the window just before the plane he was traveling on to land in Liverpool in Merseyside. “Put the song on – You’ll Never Walk Alone – because I want to imagine myself playing there and hearing the chant of the fans!” the Italian replied, turning to his wife right away.
A few weeks later, on September 21, Chiesa came on as a late substitute in the Premier League victory over Bournemouth, giving him the opportunity to feel that exact sensation. He made his debut in front of the Kop four days later during the League Cup thumping of West Ham, and the supporters were pleased with the hard-working yet talented winger. He received a standing ovation when he was substituted out after an hour of play. Although Chiesa was obviously not in his best physical shape, he certainly seemed like a fun addition to a forward line that was already excellent and a possible Mohamed Salah backup.
However, the issue is that Chiesa hasn’t been spotted since. And not because he hasn’t been able to make an impression on Arne Slot’s team. He simply hasn’t been healthy enough to play, which has led to rumors that the Juventus summer acquisition would be let to go on loan from Liverpool less than six months after joining the team.
The path to healing
Chiesa’s recent fitness problems were well known. He talked candidly about them, acknowledging that his January 2022 ACL injury “slowed down” his career because his body still had trouble recovering even when he returned to action seven months later. Minor muscle strains and even simple exhaustion were frequent issues.
But last season, Chiesa started to resemble his former explosive and capable self. In 2023–24, he played 37 games for Juventus across all competitions, the most he has played since the run-up to Euro 2020, where Italy won at Wembley and Chiesa was selected for the tournament’s team following a series of decisive and impressive performances in the final stages.
Chiesa was therefore justified in saying that he was “close to the level I was at before the injury” following his man-of-the-match performance against Albania at the European Championship in Germany last summer.
A risk worth taking?
So, why were Juve willing to let him leave? Money, essentially. The Bianconeri offered Chiesa a contract extension but on pretty much the same terms as his existing deal – which is not something that the player and his agent were willing to accept.
Consequently, Juve decided to try to sell the Italy international to the highest bidder, so as to avoid losing him for nothing when his deal expired in the summer of 2026.
Inter, AC Milan and Roma were also said to be interested but there were no concrete offers. The assumption was that the financial risk was too great for clubs that have recently embraced a far more prudent approach to the transfer market.
They clearly didn’t feel it was worth investing a significant sum of money in transfer fees and wages – at least by Serie A standards – in a player with a concerning injury record.
Liverpool did, though.
“A player who can contribute to the team”
In Liverpool’s eyes, Chiesa was a low-risk addition, the sort of “opportunistic” buy that Richard Hughes had talked about soon after becoming the team’s new sporting director in the summer. Ultimately, it is uncommon for a European Championship champion with such undeniable quality to be offered for just £10 million ($12.6 million), which is the same amount the Reds paid for Fabio Borini in 2012.
Naturally, there were mitigating factors, and it was also reasonable to argue that Liverpool didn’t actually require another wide player. The club’s top transfer targets were a defensive midfielder and a left-sided center-back.
Slot appeared content, though. “I have said all summer that it is not easy to sign players for Liverpool because the standard of players we have is so high but in Federico I firmly believe we are signing someone who enhances what is already here,” the Dutchman stated on the club’s official website.
“It’s not just his talents physically; Federico has experience of winning trophies, of course one with his national team, and dealing with setbacks and challenges. It’s the mentality we want here at Liverpool. Not only this, but he is someone who has an incredible work-rate to match his talent.
“He is a player who can make an impact and can help the team, so this is credit to Richard Hughes and everyone involved in bringing him to Liverpool.”
And, in their eyes, this was a calculated gamble with the potential to pay off handsomely. Right now, though, the fear is that it’s going to backfire badly.
“I’m sorry for him.”
With November coming to a close, Chiesa’s condition—which Slot has called both “simple” and “difficult”—has already become somewhat of a dilemma for Liverpool.
In the end, he has only made three appearances for Liverpool, accounting for a pitiful 78 minutes of playing time. These figures have caused some anxiety among the fans.
Slot has attempted to calm their concerns, pointing out “many times” that Chiesa has not benefited from the fact that Juventus coach Thiago Motta had frozen him out prior to his departure from Turin, meaning he didn’t have a normal preseason before coming to Anfield.
“Going to a league where the intensity might even be higher than the Italian league” has also hampered the 27-year-old’s attempts to get back to full fitness, according to the Reds manager. Slot acknowledged: “I can say this today because we just played the two Italian teams (AC Milan and Bologna) in the Champions League.
“In any case, he finds it challenging to advance to the intensity levels that the rest of the team is now at, and he is rather disappointed that he is constantly coming and leaving from training sessions. I’m sorry for him.
