One Liverpool player who featured sporadically for the Reds last season has been warned that his game-time could be at even more of a premium if he stays at Anfield for another 12 months.
Having arrived on Merseyside last August lacking in fitness after being frozen out at Juventus, Federico Chiesa struggled to make much of an impact on the pitch, being restricted to just 466 minutes across 14 appearances and making just a single Premier League start (Transfermarkt).
The 27-year-old has duly been linked with either a return to Serie A with Napoli or a move to Spain with Atletico Madrid this summer, with AS citing his market value at a modest €14m (£11.8m) – a figure roughly equal to the initial £10m that LFC paid for him (potentially rising to £12.5m with add-ons).
Chiesa could find game-time even harder to come by at Liverpool next season
One Italian journalist has now claimed that the forward could find game-time even harder to come by at Liverpool next season, adding that a former Chelsea manager may have designs on offering him a route out of Anfield.
Writing for the Daily Briefing, Alfredo Pedulla described Chiesa as a ‘long-time favourite’ of Napoli boss Antonio Conte and stated that Gli Azzurri had attempted to sign him before he departed for Merseyside 10 months ago.
The reporter continued: ‘His English adventure hasn’t gone as he hoped. He received little playing time under Arne Slot, and it’s expected to decrease even further next season. A return to Serie A, possibly with Conte, would be far from unlikely.’
Can Chiesa convince Slot to play him more often for Liverpool next term?
Despite his sporadic involvement in his first year at Liverpool, the Reds’ number 14 has become a firm fans’ favourite, with the chant in his name being one of the loudest sung at Anfield on the afternoon that the Premier League trophy was presented, and during the victory parade in the city the following day.
Unfortunately he has the world-class presence of Mo Salah blocking his pathway towards starting more regularly, and even with the Egyptian set to miss a few weeks of next season due to the Africa Cup of Nations, Chiesa could still be feeding off scraps unless circumstances change considerably in the meantime.
He hasn’t played for Italy since their Euro 2024 elimination by Switzerland last June, and with a World Cup on the horizon in 12 months’ time, he could understandably be eager to feature more frequently at club level in order to make it into the Azzurri squad for the tournament (that’s if they qualify, of course).
Liverpool’s pre-season programme could be crucial for the 27-year-old not just to build up fitness ahead of the campaign proper, but also to prove to Slot that he can be properly trusted in the Reds’ line-up and that he doesn’t have to beat a hasty retreat out of Merseyside in order to play regularly.
A loan exit could be plausible so that his prospects of game-time might improve and LFC aren’t cutting him adrift completely, but hopefully we’ll get to see more of Chiesa at Anfield over the next few months if he can make the most of the opportunities that he’s afforded.
