European outfit eyeing January move for Liverpool ace who’s barely featured under Slot – report
One Liverpool player who’s barely featured under Arne Slot this season could be offered the chance for a fresh start elsewhere in January.
It was only a couple of months ago that Federico Chiesa joined the Reds from Juventus, but persistent injury problems have restricted him to a mere 78 minutes of game-time since then, the bulk of which came against West Ham in the Carabao Cup (Transfermarkt).
The LFC head coach confirmed on Friday morning that the 27-year-old won’t return until after the international break later this month, coming as the latest setback for the Italian during his short stint on Merseyside so far.
Como planning Chiesa loan move in January
According to Calciomercato, Chiesa could be offered a swift return to his homeland, with Serie A outfit Como weighing up the possibility of a loan move in January on the proviso that Liverpool would continue to pay a certain percentage of the forward’s wages, which the report cites at €7.5m (£6.3m) per season.
It’s also claimed that AC Milan ‘could become an option’ for the Italy international if the Reds would be amenable to loaning him out during the winter.
Hopefully Chiesa’s luck at Liverpool will change soon
To say that Chiesa’s time at Liverpool so far has been frustrating would be an understatement – all the more so when seeing how genuinely gleeful he was at securing a move to Anfield at the end of the summer.
With Slot already having a formidable abundance of attacking riches to call upon, the Italian was never likely to be an automatic starter, but matches such as the midweek Carabao Cup trip to Brighton would’ve been the perfect opportunity for him to stake a claim for more frequent inclusion.
The 27-year-old was a low-risk investment at just £10m (plus £2.5m in add-ons), so it’d be unfair to write him off as a flop this early into his Reds career. However, even if he plays against Southampton on 24 November – our first match after the international break – it’ll still have been two months since his previous appearance.
Chiesa is facing into what effectively is another mini pre-season before that visit to St Mary’s, and with Liverpool having nine more games in 33 days after that, both he and the head coach will be desperate for him to reach a level where he’d be fit enough to feature regularly in the final few weeks of 2024.
If the Italian is still struggling to make headway at Anfield by Christmas, the prospect of a loan move to someone like Como would surely grow, but hopefully his fortunes will soon flip 180 degrees and that any thoughts of letting him leave would be promptly put to bed.
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