It is going to be a long, hard, summer for domestic Serie A fans until proper football returns for the 2025/26 campaign, but for now there is plenty of transfer window rumour mill speculation to keep us all occupied, and one of the latest rumours concerns Italian cult hero and Liverpool fringe player, Federico Chiesa.
The 27 year old, 51 international capped versatile attacker, made the switch from Juventus to the English Premier League last summer with the Anfield outfit paying a cut price £10 million for his services as he looked to put his injury problems behind him. He was, in fact, new manager Arne Slot’s only real capture of that summer for Liverpool, yet he only featured for him 14 times across all competitions, and only a handful of those appearances were starts.
With a total of only 466 minutes across their title winning campaign, it is no surprise at all to see reports from the likes of AS carry claims that his future is in doubt at the club and that both parties are interested in securing a deal that sees them part ways this transfer window. Some speculation suggests that he already has interest from Italy and Spain, with reigning 2024/25 winners Napoli and Atletico Madrid being named in some reports that are doing the rounds.
Liverpool are also looking to offload Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz this summer, so although Chiesa would potentially move up the pecking list if he stayed, he would not become a first choice by any stretch of the imagination – particularly if they succeed in signing Florian Wirtz. Undoubtedly though, Chiesa would continue to wish for greater game time than he would receive as maybe a third or fourth choice option, and you would expect both Napoli and Atletico to be able to offer that, as he will certainly be looking for far more regular minutes next season so that he can stake a better claim for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
If there is any kind of deal to be done here in the coming weeks or months, it would ultimately come down to the kind of valuation that Liverpool would now hold on him 12 months into a deal that does ultimately stretch until the summer of 2028 given the terms of his original contract at the club. That could mean that a loan deal was seen as far more feasible from their perspective, as it would free up a space in their squad, reduce the wage outgoings, but enable them to benefit financially more on a sale in a years time should he have a great season, and add to his international prestige.
It could certainly be one to watch.
