‘According to my information…’ – Romano drops fresh Chiesa update as Liverpool exit mooted | OneFootball

Just 10 months on from joining Liverpool, it looks increasingly as though Federico Chiesa could be on the move again this summer.

The Italy international quickly became a favourite of the Kop since his arrival at Anfield last August, but he was restricted to just a single start in his first season in the Premier League as he struggled for game-time under Arne Slot.

We recently revealed on Empire of the Kop that the 27-year-old is open to joining Serie A champions Napoli, who are understood to have held talks over a possible move for the Reds’ number 14 as he eyes a potential return to his homeland.

Romano: Chiesa seeking an exit from Liverpool

On Monday lunchtime, Fabrizio Romano shared an update on Chiesa, who despite having an affection for Liverpool is seeking to cut his ties with the club in search of more regular game-time next season.

The transfer guru indicated (via CaughtOffside): “According to my information, he wants to go back to Italy. He wants to leave Liverpool, not because he has any problem – he loves the club, he loves his teammates and all the people at the club – but the problem is that Chiesa is not playing on a regular basis.

“He wants to go, he wants to play, he also wants to be back with the Italian national team, so playing regularly for his club will be crucial. Chiesa is going, but let’s just see which club will be able to reach an agreement with Liverpool. There is some interest from Italy, especially from Napoli also in this case.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Hard to blame Chiesa for wanting to play more ahead of 2026 World Cup

We can only imagine how difficult and frustrating it must’ve been for the 27-year-old over the past few months to secure a dream move to Liverpool, only to then find himself struggling to get on the pitch.

It was a year ago yesterday that he last played for Italy, and Chiesa might well have one eye on next summer’s World Cup as he seeks to get back into the Azzurri squad. He missed the chance to feature at the 2022 finals in Qatar due to the then-European champions’ shock failure to qualify.

His new national team boss Gennaro Gattuso has already made it unmistakably clear that the Reds forward ‘must play more’ in the coming months if he’s to be considered for selection, and another season spent warming the bench at Anfield won’t help in that regard.

At the very least, we’d like to see our number 14 featuring prominently in pre-season and hopefully making a sufficiently lasting impression on Arne Slot to be given a proper chance once the competitive action begins.

However, if it’s evident by the autumn that Chiesa still isn’t in the head coach’s thoughts when the starting XI is being selected, a parting of the ways in 2026 would feel increasingly inevitable.

If nothing else, at least he’d depart as a Premier League winner and a genuine cult hero whenever he does go.