Anfield Watch
·22 November 2024
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Yahoo sportsAnfield Watch
·22 November 2024
Liverpool have enjoyed a massively successful start to the season, and Arne Slot has been able to get the most out of the majority of his squad.
The Reds are currently five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and also boast a 100% record in the UEFA Champions League.
Players such as Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz have thrived since Arne Slot’s arrival at Anfield.
This season hasn’t been a success story for the entirety of Liverpool’s squad however, and Slot’s only summer addition is one of the players who has really struggled.
Federico Chiesa joined Liverpool at the end of August and has struggled since swapping Turin for Merseyside.
Since his arrival, Chiesa has only played a total of 78 minutes and has been repeatedly unavailable due to a lack of fitness or injury.
The 27-year-old didn’t have a proper pre-season and this was initially the reasoning for his lack of fitness but the Italian hasn’t featured in a Liverpool squad since he was on the bench for the Reds’ Premier League game against Wolves on 28 September.
Updates from Slot seem to suggest that the forward’s return isn’t imminent, although he was spotted in training in the club’s most recent episode of ‘Inside Training’ on YouTube.
For many fans Chiesa’s season is shaping up scarily similarly to Arthur Melo’s season-long stint at Anfield, during which he only played 13 minutes for the first team.
Many thought that the worst of Chiesa’s injury issues were behind him after he managed 37 games in all competitions for Juventus last season, but this doesn’t appear to be the case.
Rumours are swirling that the winger could be on his way back to Italy as soon as January, with Inter Milan reportedly the side most interested in his signature.
It’s unclear whether Liverpool would sanction a deal for Chiesa so soon after signing him and whether a move would be a loan or a permanent deal, but the Italian’s future is far from certain at Anfield.
Recent reports have heavily linked Liverpool with a move for Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, who plays in a similar position to Chiesa and would likely overtake him in the pecking order.
Cherki is younger than Chiesa too and boasts a much cleaner injury record, meaning a move for Cherki could definitely spell the end of Chiesa’s time at Anfield.
Things aren’t looking particularly promising for Chiesa, who will need to impress upon his return from injury and remain fit in order to secure his future at Anfield.
Although he was signed for a fairly low transfer fee, Liverpool supporters will still have hoped for more from the only signing of Arne Slot’s first transfer window.