Federico Chiesa finally appears to be getting into his stride at Liverpool, but his national team coach has felt a compulsion to butt in with some comments about the 27-year-old’s club career.
The forward is still waiting to truly take flight at Anfield five months after his transfer from Juventus, with injuries and fitness issues restricting him to just 186 minutes of game-time so far with the Reds.
He hasn’t played for Italy since joining his current club, with the most recent of his 51 caps coming in the Azzurri’s 2-0 defeat to Switzerland which saw them eliminated from Euro 2024 in the round of 16.
Spalletti ‘in favour’ of Chiesa returning to Serie A
Luciano Spalletti has given an interview to Vivo Azzurro TV (via Calciomercato) in which he made his feelings clear about Chiesa.
The Italy head coach said of the Liverpool forward: “People like Chiesa, we are there hoping that he can play with more continuity and that he can show us through these possibilities that you have of seeing them train, of seeing these guys play continuously.”
When asked if he’d like to see the 27-year-old returning to Serie A, following rumours to that effect in recent weeks, Spalletti replied: “Yes, I would be very much in favour of having Chiesa under control as far as the level of our football is concerned, to go and reintegrate him because those who have this quality of looking you in the eye and breaking through the line in front of them to go to the next one, there aren’t many.”
Slot won’t have liked Spalletti’s comments on Chiesa
Arne Slot might have a few choice words for the Italy head coach following that unsubtle appeal for Chiesa to come back to his homeland.
Liverpool’s number 14 might’ve had his game-time limited in recent months but he delivered a lively cameo off the bench in the midweek victory over Lille, forcing Lucas Chevalier into making two good saves.
The 27-year-old probably does need to be playing more regularly than he has in order to nudge his way back into contention for the Azzurri, but if he can avoid a recurrence of the fitness problems which dogged him in the first half of the season, he’ll surely get plenty more minutes before the next international break.
Despite Spalletti calling for Chiesa to return to Serie A, the Reds attacker showed with his passionate reaction to Harvey Elliott’s goal that it means the world to him to be playing for the six-time champions of Europe.
Slot definitely won’t be thanking the Italy boss for his recent comments, but thankfully we don’t envisage our number 14 pushing to leave Liverpool just because of what his national team coach has said.
