Liverpool fans will have no doubt been surprised to learn of the club’s now well-documented interest in Federico Chiesa late in the summer transfer window.
Fabrizio Romano jumped on X (formerly Twitter) last night to confirm that the deal remains very much on, with the player ‘excited’ about the prospect of linking up with Arne Slot’s Reds.
The Italian registered 13 goal contributions in 37 games (across all competitions) last term.
How much will Federico Chiesa cost Liverpool?Reports at the start of August (Mirko Di Natale via the Liverpool Echo) suggested that The Old Lady would demand a fee as little as £13m for Chiesa’s services.A bargain price, it has to be said, for a footballer entering his peak years.
League games
2023/24
33 games played5 games out with an injury
2022/23
21 games played17 games out with an injury *(cruciate ligament tear ongoing from prior campaign)
*2021/22
14 games played24 games out with an injury
2020/21
33 games played3 games out with an injury
2019/20
34 games played2 games out with an injury
Average availability over the past five seasons: 71.05% of total league fixturesThe former Fiorentina wide man isn’t perfect – let’s make that clear from the off. Nonetheless, suggestions that he’d be unable to bolster our forward line for the foreseeable future as backup might be somewhat wide of the mark.
Three out of the last five campaigns in Serie A, for instance, have seen the 26-year-old play over 30 games in 38-game league season (not taking into account additional competitions).
There is, of course, a very fair point to be made about the comparative intensity of the Premier League to Italian top-flight football. Though, if we’re going down in that direction, it would be unwise to discount the realities of Arne Slot’s slightly more energy-conserving football.
Not to mention the potential benefits our lead physical performance coach, Ruben Peeters, may bring to the side.Is it still a risk? Quite possibly. Though one arguably worth taking if we’re not handing the mantle of responsibility to Chiesa.
