You wonder how much football Federico Chiesa would have played for Liverpool had he been brought in last January as opposed to late August. Deemed surplus to requirements at Juventus, the Reds smelt a transfer opportunity when landing the Italian for a bargain £10m fee.

But five months on and his Anfield career is yet to kick off. Limited to 123 minutes of action across four appearances, the forward has featured just once since returning from a lengthy injury lay-off last month.

However, if not for the injuries, how much more would Chiesa really have played? He has Mohamed Salah ahead of him in the pecking order after all, with the Egyptian, on current form at least, the best player in European football.

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Arne Slot would reference the Italy international's lengthy absence when comparing Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo’s shared game-time on the left-flank to Salah’s own form on the right.

“I can completely understand how much focus there is on Mo's performance because that is remarkable, if a player has so many goals and so many assists,” he said. “But if you combine the goals of Lucho and Cody when they play as a left-winger, they come quite close to the numbers Mo has.

“Mo's advantage is that because Federico is not always available he is playing from the first until the last minute, but I think our left-winger position comes quite close to the numbers Mo has.”

Featuring in 27 of Liverpool’s 28 matches under Slot, starting 25 of them, Salah has scored 21 goals and recorded 17 assists. No player in the world can compete with such numbers, with Chiesa the latest man facing the unenviable task of being the No.11's deputy.

Had he joined last January, things could have perhaps been different. Salah went off to the Africa Cup of Nations that same month before suffering a hamstring injury. Missing for 12 matches, he would then struggle for form following his return.

That would have presented the perfect opportunity for Chiesa to stake his claim, had he already been on the Reds' books, and enabled him to bed in fully before starting his first full season at Anfield. Instead, robbed of a proper pre-season by Juventus, he was left playing catch-up and has been unable to showcase his abilities in a Liverpool shirt as a result.

Monitored by Reds bosses long before moving to Anfield, you start to fear whether Chiesa is a case of right player, wrong time. Despite now being back available, it has remained a challenge to grant the 27-year-old further game-time.

“I agree with you that it is so difficult to bring players back from an injury of one month, two months into the team,” Slot said last week. “Because there is hardly any training time and there is hardly any time to play friendlies.

“So the moment you play them, that is coming from seeing them in 15-20 minutes on a training ground and of course from the experience you have with these players.

“So for the ones that have played a lot under me, it is easier to come back after an injury than the ones that didn’t because the ones that played under me, I know what I can expect from them and I know what they bring to the team.”

Had Chiesa joined last January, Liverpool would already know what he can bring to their team. Instead, onlookers are still waiting to see if his Reds career can ever truly ignite.

Despite being linked with a mid-season return to Serie A, the player’s agent has already dismissed such speculation and insisted he will remain with Liverpool for the rest of the campaign.

An unused substitute for three of the Reds’ last two matches - having not been included in the travelling squad for the other two - the fixture list could now hand an opportunity to Chiesa with Slot’s men facing two domestic cup matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Accrington Stanley.

But while Slot had confirmed that Chiesa would be involved for his side’s League Cup quarter-final against Southampton last month, he was offering no such assurances to any of his players ahead of facing Spurs.

While he briefly hinted at a line up made up of a mixture of Liverpool regulars and players who have lacked game time, it remains to be seen if Chiesa will be involved and to what extent.

Despite returning to action last month, he made headlines after not being included in the travelling squad when the Reds last travelled to Tottenham. His absence was put down to mild illness, though Liverpool bosses were mindful of already boasting a balanced bench while continuing to manage the Italian carefully.

Also left out against West Ham, Slot would explain how they thought it beneficial for Chiesa to partake in training sessions on Merseyside rather than travel to the capital.

Time will tell if the forward is now set to miss out his third away match in a row, or if a second trip of the season to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can act as an opportune time to hand Chiesa much-needed minutes.

If not, then an FA Cup third-round meeting with League Two Accrington Stanley has to instead, otherwise further questions of the player will be asked.

Liverpool has barely needed a Salah deputy this season, such has been his excellence. But with League Cup and FA Cup action handing an opening to rotate if Slot wishes to take it, the next few days could help shape Chiesa’s campaign and determine if he can play a more substantial role in the second half of the season.

If not needed now, then when will he be if Salah remains in such untouchable form? While the Reds head coach might not know what to quite expect from Chiesa to date, Liverpool’s next two matches at least offer Slot the opportunity to find out.