1 week Ago
Federico Chiesa has undoubtedly been a flop for Liverpool, but the Divock Origi regen is adored regardless and his big moment is in the post. A couple of years ago, Chiesa was attracting interest from numerous elite European clubs as he helped Italy win the European Championship after his breakout campaign with Juventus. Juventus fended off interest to keep their prized asset, though they presumably wish they hadn’t bothered as the injury-affected winger’s value dramatically declined before the 2024 summer window.
Having become increasingly desperate to get Chiesa off their books, Juventus enticed interest by significantly cutting the 27-year-old’s price to only £12.5m and Liverpool bit. Everything has worked out nicely for Arne Slot’s side as they top the Premier League and Champions League tables, but there were concerns about Liverpool’s inactivity in the summer transfer market following Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
Amid highly publicised uncertainty surrounding three of their top stars , Liverpool need to be busy this summer to cover for potential outgoings and replace faded greats . That’s a story for another day, though. As for last summer, it was surprising that their only addition was a winger given Slot already had an abundance of attacking options and the defensive midfield department needed tending to after Martin Zubimendi’s transfer U-turn .
Still, FSG have proven to be reactive in the transfer market when there’s an opening and they opted to take a calculated risk on Chiesa when the opportunity knocked. READ: Premier League five-year net spend table: Man City now above Liverpool Considering the cost of the transfer, this was a low-risk deal for Liverpool as they were well-covered if it went awry, while they were potentially gaining a top-tier winger if Chiesa kickstarted his career at Anfield. Unfortunately for the club and player, this move has not worked out for either party as Chiesa’s fitness issues have come with him from Turin, with his 186 total minutes played for Liverpool telling the story.
Chiesa’s lack of minutes have fuelled speculation linking the action-starved forward with a speedy exit , though his body language indicates he’s desperate to stay. From the first day he stepped into Liverpool’s training ground, Chiesa has had a beaming smile and earned extra brownie points for his passionate celebrations in recent matches. In a season where it’s seemed not all of Liverpool’s players want to be there, Chiesa’s attitude has struck a chord with supporters, who have grown to adore their summer signing despite him doing sod all on the pitch to date.
Chiesa finds himself in a similar situation to Divock Origi, who was almost always on the periphery as Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino took all of the limelight and their extraordinary partnership blossomed. Despite this, cult hero Origi is equally loved by supporters as the back-up forward made a habit of scoring big goals in big games when they were crying out for a saviour. Origi’s unnatural route to becoming a Liverpool legend could be copied by Chiesa, even if his spell at Anfield does prove short-lived.
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The latest example was Darwin Nunez’s late match-winning brace at Brentford, which came on a weekend the Gunners dropped points against Aston Villa. Nunez is another player on the outskirts this season and does not appear to be favoured by Slot, but he can hang his hat on his last-gasp salvo at Brentford as a big contribution to Liverpool’s expected Premier League title triumph before his possible summer departure . Chiesa has featured less but made a couple of impressive cameos off the bench in recent matches as he ramps up his fitness.
With the morale boost of huge fan support adding to his clear natural ability, Chiesa’s Nunez-esque moment in the sun is coming via a game-changing goal/assist in the last minute, especially with Slot inevitably set to rotate in the coming weeks with Salah looking spent . As of now, Chiesa has clearly been a flop and could easily be sent packing this year, but he equally still has time to establish himself as a useful Liverpool squad player and his cult hero status will be further cemented if/when he repays the love from supporters with a big moment of his own in this campaign..
