Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa reportedly has offers on the table from four sides to leave Anfield – and a transfer journalist has revealed what the Italy star is likely to do once the winter window opens for business and Arne Slot’s true thoughts on the player coming to light.
Chiesa moved to Anfield in the summer of 2024, the only concrete signing of Slot’s first summer at the Liverpool helm. At first glance, it seemed the Reds had picked up an all-too-rare bargain, with the £12.5m (€15m, $18m) package to land the Euro 2020 winner from Juventus seen as a really smart piece of business.
However, Chiesa has never really convinced while on Merseyside, only being offered limited chances to impress and largely finding himself playing second fiddle behind a host of more established names.
As a result, speculation over his future has been pretty rampant ever since his arrival, though the winger did turn down chances to move on both last January and during the summer window.
That decision to continue on Merseyside looked to have backfired when the 27-year-old was overlooked for Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad, though an ACL injury to Giovanni Leoni has since resulted in his restoration.
But with regular minutes continuing to evade him, Calciomercato now reports that the winger has offers to leave in the upcoming January window with four sides in Serie A – AC Milan, Inter Milan, Atalanta and Napoli – remaining on his trail after being touted with a summer move.
With a World Cup on the horizon and with boss, Rino Gattuso, monitoring his progress, it’s claimed his chances of leaving in January will rest entirely on how much he is used by Slot for Liverpool over the intervening weeks.
And if he doesn’t rack up enough game-time to warrant inclusion in the Azzurri’s thinking, a move away looks a genuine possibility in the winter; a view which is also shared by a transfer journalist…
IN-FOCUS🔴 Who is Chiesa’s agent and how much does Italy winger earn at Liverpool?
Multiple sources share Chiesa’s true stance on Liverpool exit
Indeed, transfer expert Graeme Bailey insists there is a strong chance Chiesa will push to leave Merseyside if he feels it will benefit his World Cup prospects in the winter window, assuming, of course, the Azzurri qualify for next summer’s FIFA extravaganza.
“He’s still unlikely to play too big a part under Arne Slot,” Bailey told Rousing the Kop when asked about what the Liverpool manager thinks of the winger.
“The only reason he stayed really is because the Alexander Isak deal wasn’t done until the last day. But let’s keep an eye on this, we’ll know by November if Italy are going to the World Cup, which can have a bearing on things.
“If they do not qualify, then he’s unlikely to push to leave, he’ll wait until the summer,” adds the journalist.
“But if Italy are going to the World Cup, it may then change. That’s an interesting sidebar for Liverpool fans to keep an eye on in October and November.”
Any return to Italy, though, would also go against the player’s love for life at Liverpool, with our transfer insider, Dean Jones, revealing that, despite his lack of minutes, the former Juventus man is loving his time at Anfield.
Jones said: “Chiesa knows he has to be very careful about how he manages this moment of his career.
“He seems to love being part of Liverpool, and they see him as a very useful player. He is patiently waiting for his opportunity to shine.
“Obviously, he cannot wait around forever, but, equally, wherever he goes next is likely to be a step down in level.
“There will be opportunities in January for him to move and a switch back to Italy will definitely be possible – but the player has to be sure that the team fits him properly in order to reach his own heights and produce his best form.”
Despite initially leaving him out of his Champions League squad, Slot admits he has noticed a new determination from Chiesa this season.
Speaking back in August, the Reds boss told the media: “I see a totally different Federico now than from large parts of last season.
“It is completely normal because he missed out on the whole pre-season and then came into a Premier League rhythm in terms of the amount of games and in terms of intensity.
“If he is more available, then he has more chances to impact our results or his playing time. But then it is about him staying as fit as he is at the moment.”
Latest Liverpool news: Shearer explains Jota suffering; Konate replacement identified
Chiesa was absent from the Liverpool squad that made the trip to Istanbul in the Champions League, with a knock keeping him out of the squad to face Galatasaray.
And in the face of a truly disappointing performance, that resulted in a 1-0 defeat, Alan Shearer feels the squad is displaying mental fatigue following the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and having named the four factors of the defeat that will truly concern Slot.
Slot also recently spoke again about the Portuguese’s death, explaining how it affected the Reds’ summer transfer strategy and having also come clean on Liverpool links to Tuesday night’s matchwinner, Victor Osimhen.
Meanwhile, fresh reports in Spain claim Ibrahima Konate is on the brink of agreeing a free transfer move to Real Madrid at the end of the season, with a second source claiming Liverpool are well aware of his intentions and are ready to push hard to land their number one choice as his replacement.