Arne Slot has seemingly given the green light for Liverpool to sell one player in particular this summer, according to one insider.
The first playing arrival at Anfield under the Dutchman’s tenure was Federico Chiesa, who joined from Juventus for an initial £10m (plus £2.5m in add-ons) last August but endured a difficult first season with the Reds despite their resounding Premier League triumph.
Speculation over a possible exit from Merseyside in the current transfer window has already been abundant, with The Athletic claiming that FSG could be willing to entertain offers for the 27-year-old amid reported interest from the likes of Real Betis and Napoli.
Slot doesn’t see Chiesa as part of long-term plans at Liverpool
Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown – who remains well-connected within the game – has told Football Insider that Slot hasn’t been overly convinced by the Italy international and Liverpool could therefore accept any bids for the player which’d allow them to break even on him or maybe even turn a profit.
He said: “Liverpool are open to offers for Chiesa. From what I hear, he hasn’t lived up to expectations there and the manager doesn’t see him as a part of his long-term plans at Anfield. He was brought in as a backup player for the other three, but he’s had very few opportunities.
“There are a few clubs having a look who are interested in buying him. I think it’s something he’d be open to as well because he hasn’t been playing regularly.
“Liverpool feel that if they can make their money back at around £10m, or potentially make a profit on him, it would be a good deal given the role he has played, because they can’t be sure they’ll be able to do that if he has another season like this one.
“There are a few options open to them, because he could still stay. They might decide that what he offers them as a backup is more than they could get from somebody else like a Harvey Elliott who can play in that role. At the moment, though, I think they’ll be prepared to let him go.”
Chiesa deserves more time to prove himself at Liverpool
Given the cut-price fee at which Liverpool signed Chiesa 10 months ago, perhaps we can’t have too many complaints if even most of that is recouped this summer, should he be sold.
Despite the Italian being a firm fans’ favourite at Anfield, it’d be hard to claim that his stock has risen during his time at the club so far, having racked up just 466 minutes of game-time and scored two goals – a modest output even when considering how infrequently he’s played.
It might be difficult to turn down any offers of £10m or more for the 27-year-old if Slot doesn’t envisage playing him all that often next season, but we’d like to see the ex-Juventus forward given at least another six to 12 months to prove his worth on Merseyside.
Chiesa’s preparations for the 2024/25 campaign were hampered by him being frozen out at the Allianz Stadium before he joined Liverpool, but if he can enjoy a proper pre-season this year, hopefully that’d enable him to hit the ground running once the competitive action gets underway in August.
The absence of Mo Salah over the festive period due to Egypt’s participation at the Africa Cup of Nations should also come into FSG’s thinking when it comes to any decisions on the Italy winger, who deserves a bit more time at Anfield before he’s written off.
