When he arrived at Liverpool in the summer, Federico Chiesa simply could not stop smiling. His delight at having landed in the Premier League was clear to see and yet he has only played 18 minutes in that competition to date.

Chiesa has made three appearances in total, also playing a minute in the Champions League at AC Milan and getting just under an hour in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. It has been a frustrating period for him after missing the whole of pre-season and Arne Slot has already admitted he needs longer to adjust to the demands of the English game.

"With Federico it's a bit more simple; it's more difficult, but it's a bit more simple to explain," Slot said. "He missed a complete pre-season, I said this many times, and going to a league where the intensity might even be higher than the Italian league. We just faced the two Italian teams so I can say this now.

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"So that makes it difficult for him to make the step towards the intensity levels the rest of the team is at at the moment. That has not so much to do with the Italian league or the Premier League; that has more to do with him missing a complete pre-season and that is so difficult for every player — when the games are constantly there — to build them up towards the levels we are at.

'So, difficult to say [when he will be back], but it's a big disappointment for him that he is going in and out of the training sessions all the time. I feel sorry for him but he signed a long-term contract so we will see what he brings for us."

Perhaps inevitably, the Italian media has been linking Chiesa with a return to Serie A. Among others, AC Milan and Fiorentina have both been put forward as possible options in recent times while Tuttosport now says Inter is "pushing" for a January loan deal.

Quite simply, however, it is far too early to be thinking about Chiesa moving on. Signed for an initial fee of just $13m (£10m/€12m), the move from Juventus was low-risk and high-reward. So far, it has only been enough time for him to begin to bed in.

Chiesa would ideally return after the November international break and immediately look sharp again. In reality, that isn't likely — it could easily take a few more weeks.

Until that point, though, or at least after a full season at Anfield where he can work hard behind the scenes to prove his fitness, there is no point trying to make a judgment. Liverpool knew when Chiesa was signed that there was a risk attached — giving up after just a few weeks would make no sense at all.