Whilst much of Arne Slot’s tenure has so far been full of positives, one player has already given Liverpool plenty to think about with three Serie A clubs reportedly chasing his signature.
Liverpool transfer news
The Reds have been as ruthless as ever on the pitch, especially defensively, and head into their trip to face title rivals Arsenal in hope of maintaining their lead at the top of the Premier League.
"Cheeky" £24,000-p/w star favours Liverpool move after contract talks stall
He could replace Mohamed Salah…
1 ByTom CunninghamOct 25, 2024
If there’s any way to cement your place as contenders rather than pretenders in the Premier League, then defeating Chelsea, RB Leipzig and Arsenal all in one week is certainly up there. And with two of those results ticked off, the Gunners now await Slot’s rampant Liverpool side.
The Premier League leaders don’t enter North London at full strength, however, with injuries to Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliott, Alisson Becker and Federico Chiesa dealing Slot a frustrating blow. Chiesa’s absence is particularly frustrating and follows a worrying trend that could force the Reds’ hand.
According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are now willing to listen to loan offers for Chiesa in 2025 amid interest from AC Milan, Inter Milan and AS Roma. The Italian only just arrived in the summer from Juventus, of course, but it seems as though a return to Italy on loan cannot be ruled out.
That said, just 12 games into the season, any decision regarding their £150,000-a-week star may be slightly premature, especially given that he didn’t even have a pre-season to get up to scratch at either Juve or at Anfield. In the winger’s case, patience will be key.
Liverpool must be patient with "fantastic" Chiesa
Whether it’s Fabinho, Andrew Robertson or, more recently, Ryan Gravenberch, not all Liverpool signings slot straight in and hit the ground running. In fact, some of the best in the club’s history have taken plenty of time to settle in before bursting into life. And the same patience should be considered in the case of Chiesa.
The winger found himself frozen out at Juventus, which limited his pre-season to already hand him a disadvantage compared to the rest of his Liverpool teammates. It’s, therefore, only natural that Chiesa has struggled to keep up with the intensity at Anfield thus far. But that should eventually come as he regains full fitness before playing a part under Slot.
Of course, the aim should be to get the Italian back to his 2021 form, which earned the praise of Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, who said via The Metro: “He’s just a fantastic footballer. The intensity with which he plays with, we saw in the Euros he was the main goal threat for the Italians who went on to win the tournament.
“It’s his pace, his drive. He’s the one who is the threat, he’s potent, he wants to run in behind. He’s that modern day striker who can play anywhere across the front line and he’s as comfortable out wide as he is through the middle. He unnerves defenders with that pace, he’s so direct.”