Federico Chiesa given immediate transfer advice by Italy boss after Liverpool future decision
Federico Chiesa has endured a slow start to life at Liverpool. With the January transfer window open for another week or so, he has received some advice from the Italy boss.
There have been one or two recent signs of a belated Anfield lift-off. Arne Slot turned to Chiesa off the bench when chasing a win against Brentford (though it was Darwin Nunez who ultimately delivered the goods), and the winger featured off the bench again in the Champions League against Lille.
Chiesa even got his first goal for the club this month, albeit against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. But he awaits his first goal contribution of any kind in the Premier League, where he has amassed just 21 minutes.
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While Liverpool would probably not have anticipated quite such a pedestrian six months, it will have been braced for a period of adaptation. Chiesa has had fitness struggles in the past, had played little part in Juventus' pre-season, and was experiencing Slot's intense stlye for the first time.
With that in mind, a decision already appears to have been made over a possible January transfer. Chiesa himself is reportedly keen to remain at Anfield, and Slot has expressed satisfaction with the Italian's progress behind the scenes, suggesting he is close to being able to handle a full 90 minutes.
Whether he ever actually clocks that 90 minutes remains to be seen, with options like Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo clearly ahead of him in the pecking order. But it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he might deliver a significant moment between now and the end of the campaign, with Liverpool still competing on four fronts.
However, while a deep squad is in Liverpool's best interests, the Italy manager has expressed dissatisfaction with Chiesa's bit-part role. He has advised the 27-year-old to seek a transfer back to Serie A.
"We’re hoping that Chiesa can play with more continuity and that we can see him train and play regularly," Luciano Spalletti told Vivo Azzurro TV, via Foot Italia.
"Yes, I would be very much in favour of having Chiesa under our watch in terms of the level of our football, to reintegrate him,” he added, answering a question about whether he would welcome the winger's return to Italy. "Because those who have this quality of looking you in the eye and breaking the line in front of them to get to the next one…there aren’t many of them."
Chiesa and Liverpool seem poised to disappoint Spalletti. But it's clear the Italy boss still rates him — and the hope at Anfield will be that he can show some of that line-breaking quality in a red jersey before the campaign is up.
Liverpool.com says: You can't blame Spalletti for being in favor of a transfer. It must be frustrating seeing a potentially key player for the national team get so sidelined at club level.
Having said that, Liverpool is ultimately working to get Chiesa in the best shape possible. If he does enough to earn increased minutes for the Reds in the second half of the campaign, it might be in the best interests of both club and country.
