Gianfranco Zola makes promise to Liverpool fans as Federico Chiesa rated

Liverpool will face Chelsea in a big Premier League clash on Sunday, and Blues Gianfranco Zola has been speaking about one of his countrymen, Federico Chiesa.

It is not yet clear if the Reds’ most recent signing will feature in the match against Chelsea. Chiesa missed the final two games prior to the international break with a minor injury, sitting out the wins over Bologna and Crystal Palace.

The 26-year-old has not played international football since joining Liverpool, though he did appear in all four matches of Italy’s unsuccessful Euro 2024 campaign. Zola began by explaining how Chiesa’s move to England should help his international ambitions.

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“Yes, (it's a good opportunity for Chiesa to get back into Italy set-up),” said Zola (via TBRFootball). “Playing in the Premier League is an opportunity for everyone, I can tell you by experience.

“Playing right now, with the type of football and the quality of football that you have here. It can only be a benefit. It will push Chiesa hard.

“Also, they (Liverpool) have a few strikers over there. The point is that they have a lot of competition, but he will have his time and space. It will be down to him to use that time wisely. But he will certainly improve his position," Zola concluded.

Two of Chiesa’s great strengths are his flexibility and tactical awareness. Per Transfermarkt, the former Juventus man has occupied seven different positions to varying extents across his career to date. While there is a lot of competition in the Liverpool front line, as Zola rightly noted, there are plenty of games to go round thanks to the expanded Champions League and two domestic cups.

In his one start for Arne Slot, Chiesa began in the right forward position against West Ham in the Carabao Cup. He marked the occasion with an assist, for Diogo Jota, though clearly being up against Mohamed Salah for that role means he will likely miss out more often than not.

It is in this position that Chiesa has mostly played for Italy too. That said, his last assist at international level came when he played as a second striker against Bosnia, while his last goals came from the left versus North Macedonia.

Getting into the Liverpool team is a must if he is to play regularly for his national side, no matter in which position it happens to be. Only then can Chiesa prove Zola’s comments correct.