Sorry, Federico Chiesa: Here’s six reasons you need to LEAVE Liverpool | OneFootball

It’s Carabao Cup night for Liverpool, and that usually means one thing: a rare chance for Federico Chiesa to get meaningful minutes.

Once one of the biggest prospects in Italian football, Chiesa earned a move from Fiorentina to Juventus, where he scored 32 goals before taking the opportunity to join Liverpool last summer. But it hasn’t been a move he’s been able to take in his stride.

The fact that Chiesa has become reduced to such a background role is a source of frustration for Italian football fans, who wanted to see him reach his full potential but are now growing accustomed to him being a benchwarmer in what should be the prime years of his career.

But the genial Chiesa seems content enough with his current situation. He won Liverpool’s player of the month award for September, despite it being a month in which he only made three appearances (the solitary start, surprise surprise, coming in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton, in which he produced a double assist).

And in a recent interview with The Times, Chiesa has confirmed his ongoing intention to stay at Liverpool.

“At the moment I’m happy with what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m not happy with what the situation is like for the team because we’re not winning, but, personally, I think I’m giving a lot to the team, to the fans and I want to keep doing that in order to win in the future.

“That’s the main reason I’m doing this. Obviously, I want to stay here and I want to win for Liverpool again.”

Still under contract until 2028, Chiesa is entitled to fight for his place. But he needs to take a step back and consider: what if his situation doesn’t improve?

Despite his popularity among the fans at present, here are the reasons why Chiesa needs to give more serious thought to a departure from Liverpool.

Italy place at stake – in a World Cup year

It’s been 16 months since Chiesa last pulled on the Italy shirt. In other words, he hasn’t been called up by the Azzurri at all since his Liverpool move.

This is a player who has more than 50 caps for his country and featured at the past two European Championships.

Italy haven’t been to a World Cup during Chiesa’s career, but have the chance to qualify for the 2026 edition – even if it has to be through the play-offs.

At the age of 28, it could be Chiesa’s last and only chance to play in a World Cup. But if he doesn’t get more gametime at club level, it could pass him by.

Nevertheless, the door isn’t closed for Chiesa to be called up by Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso, who said earlier this month: “The Chiesa issue is very simple. I talk to my players a lot, and I want to make that clear, a lot. I speak every week with Fede and he knows what I think of him, but I also have to respect what the player tells me.

“He does not feel at 100 per cent and wants to be at 100 per cent, that is the truth.”

But the only way for Chiesa to get back to 100 per cent might be to boost his minutes at another club who’d have a clearer role for him.

Self-confessed loss of pace

Chiesa was an exciting winger when first making his name, able to take on players and create chances from wide areas.

However, in his interview with The Times, he admitted he isn’t as fast as he used to be.

“I’m a different player now,” he stated, “but I like where I’m going and I like the fact I have improved in many aspects of my game, apart from the fact I have lost a bit of speed.”

While Chiesa only just turned 28, that speed probably isn’t going to come back at this stage of his career. And it could become a critical downside for him as a Premier League player.

There’s an onus on attackers in the English top flight to keep up with the pace of the game on these shores. If Chiesa can’t, he might be best off taking his talents to a different competition, since he still has other attributes that he can maximise.

Crowded competition in central areas

Chiesa has perhaps been a victim of versatility at Liverpool, being someone who can provide an option on either wing but without being the preferred option in any position.

As part of the current adaptation of his game, Chiesa has started taking up more central territory, playing more like a striker (like his father Enrico used to).

Cameos at centre-forward led to both of his goals in the Premier League this season, against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.

But if Chiesa wants to become a striker for this next phase of his career, there’s a slight problem about that happening at Liverpool. They’ve just spent £194m on two strikers.

The heavy investments in Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak mean those two players simply have to be Liverpool’s go-to options up front.

There’s even a risk that one of them could sit on the bench at a time. But the prospect of them both dropping out so Chiesa can play up front is minuscule.

The experiment of Chiesa at centre-forward for Liverpool is likely to be limited to when he comes on as an impact sub. But if he wants to make a successful transition to being a striker, he would need to play there on a more consistent basis.

Slot sack not in discussion

With Liverpool struggling for form at the moment, some questions have been asked of head coach Arne Slot – the manager that’s generally been overlooking Chiesa.

The player himself has no qualms with how Slot has treated him. “Last year I wasn’t fit enough, he admitted. “I wasn’t mentally ready and I didn’t play. I was totally okay with it because I wasn’t up to speed with the other lads.”

But after coming back into fitness and with Slot still reluctant to give him starts, despite publicly backing his no. 14, it’s hard to imagine that a change of coach wouldn’t make any difference to Chiesa’s fortunes.

However, Slot retains the unanimous backing of the Liverpool board after leading the club to the Premier League title last season, with top sources confirming there’s no desire for a change of manager.

With Slot set to remain in situ, Chiesa is up against it in trying to convince his coach to give him more gametime.

He could benefit from playing for someone with a fresh perspective and, in the current circumstances, that would mean moving on.

Salah succession chances reducing

Another key figure at Liverpool who is probably going nowhere is Mohamed Salah, the starting right-winger who was entering the last year of his contract when Chiesa arrived.

There was probably some belief that Chiesa could be a potential successor to Salah on the right wing, but the Egyptian extended his contract earlier this year.

Salah hasn’t been in the best of form recently and perhaps isn’t as untouchable as he once was, but he remains an obstacle to Chiesa on the right-hand side.

As stated, Chiesa can play on the left just as well – arguably even better – but Liverpool’s original vision for him may no longer be intact.

Slot will be prioritising how to get the best out of Salah again, which could continue to narrow Chiesa’s opportunities.

Widespread interest in Italy

For some players, being at a club like Liverpool is a privilege not worth giving up, even if you’re not playing much.

For example, at this stage, it’s unlikely Wataru Endo – another player usually restricted to rotation minutes by Slot – is going to play for another club of the same calibre. He might as well stay.

But while Chiesa’s next move is likely to be a step down, he still has several attractive suitors, especially in his native Italy.

Since the summer transfer window closed, he’s been mentioned in the Italian media as an option for AC Milan, Inter, Atalanta and Napoli in 2026.

If any of them would have more guarantees for him in terms of role, it should be something he looks to take advantage of to ensure he doesn’t write off this chapter of his career.