Federico Chiesa is likely to depart Liverpool this summer and the most realistic avenue will be a return to Serie A, with claims a transfer is “very advanced.”
Chiesa has now officially earned his Premier League medal – though he would have been awarded one regardless of appearances – but he is clearly out of favour at Anfield.
The only signing of Arne Slot‘s first summer in charge was left out entirely as Ryan Gravenberch returned to the squad for last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, and in total he has started only three games this season.
Despite regular links with a move back to Italy in the winter Chiesa stayed to fight for his place, but the next transfer window should be much different.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Serie A leaders Napoli are “very advanced” in their bid to sign the 27-year-old on an initial season-long loan.
Napoli and Liverpool are claimed to be in disagreement regarding a purchase clause, with the former seeking an option to buy and the latter insisting on an obligation.
The exact terms of any buy option are unclear, but it could even be the case that Liverpool make a profit on their initial £10 million outlay.
These negotiations are described as “the usual skirmishes of the period, waiting to arrive at an inevitable conclusion.”
Chiesa is “enthusiastic about returning to Serie A” and absorbing his wages is “not a problem” for Napoli – the winger earns a reported £120,000 per week.
“In short, the deal is at a very advanced stage,” journalist Carlo Laudisa writes, with it clear that this would be a move that suits all parties.
Napoli are currently top of Serie A with two games left to play, and while there is only one point separating them and Inter Milan, Antonio Conte’s side know they have at least qualified for next season’s Champions League already.
Given his experience of the Italian top flight – with 235 appearances in Serie A across spells with Fiorentina and Juventus – signing Chiesa could be seen as a coup for Napoli.
That is particularly the case having spent a campaign working on his long-term fitness overseen by Slot’s expert medical staff.
There is a sense that while Chiesa is now fully fit and capable of coping with the rigours of English football, he is simply not showing enough in training to justify a regular place in the Liverpool squad.
It is a sad situation, with the player arriving with an infectious enthusiasm, but a move back to Serie A seems inevitable.
