It was one of the summer’s more surprising transfer tales.
The news that Liverpool are exploring a possible deal for Juventus and Italy attacker Federico Chiesa, who is available for around €15million (£12.7m; $16.7m) due to him only having one year left on his contract, seemed to come out of nowhere.
Yet there is logic to Liverpool’s interest. Here, we explain why and how Chiesa could fit in at Anfield.
Why do Liverpool want cover in this position?
Liverpool have been considering bringing in a wide forward all summer. They already have five very good attacking options in Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez. Chiesa, who favours the right side, would add experienced depth behind Salah with Slot so far using Jota and Nunez as his central striker and Diaz and Gakpo on the left.
Salah’s excellence and durability means Liverpool have not needed a specific backup for the right-wing role, with left wing and the No 9 role the regular rotation spots under Klopp. This could suggest that, due to his age, Liverpool want to reinforce their forward line to rotate the Egypt international more often to keep him as fresh as possible.
What does Slot want from a wide forward?
Wingers are key in Slot’s system. He likes them to be unpredictable and strong in one-on-one duels, capable of carrying and progressing the ball while linking up with team-mates.
He is happy for them to drift inside, allowing full-backs to overlap, but low crosses from the byline are also a feature in his system. Chiesa may have endured a difficult campaign in 2023-24, but he is a versatile forward who would appear to fit that profile.
Chiesa’s injury history is also a slight concern. He suffered a cruciate ligament tear in the 2021-22 season, which significantly set him back, but he only missed six games for Juventus last season due to injury. Availability has become an increasingly important attribute, with Liverpool keen to avoid repeats of other signings who have been dogged by fitness problems.
Federico Chiesa featured for Italy at Euro 2024 (Claudio Villa/Getty Images for FIGC)
However, Slot has a very good injury prevention record at his previous clubs and the hope is that it can continue at Anfield under the guidance of lead physical performance coach Ruben Peeters. He is unlikely to be a regular starter either, so theoretically could be managed accordingly.
Who else have Liverpool been linked with?
At the end of June, with Newcastle beset by profit and sustainability concerns, the opportunity emerged to sign Anthony Gordon.
A deal was in place for the 23-year-old to move to Anfield for £75million, with Joe Gomez heading in the other direction for £45million, but a deal did not materialise.
Liverpool’s interest in Gordon, who predominantly plays on the left, increased speculation around the future of Luis Diaz. Rumours linking him to Barcelona have swirled all summer, but no offer has been forthcoming for the 27-year-old, who has three years left on his contract. Slot sees him as key to his plans.
What could this mean about Salah’s future?
Chiesa can operate on both flanks but predominantly plays on the right, so would face an almost impossible battle to usurp Salah from that starting spot this season.
Salah’s longer-term future, however, remains in doubt. The Egypt international is in the last year of his contract and talks have yet to begin over a renewal, but the 32-year-old has started the season in fine form with two goals and one assist in his opening two games.
Mohamed Salah is out of contract next year (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
If Liverpool sign Chiesa, it does not confirm that this would be Salah’s final season on Merseyside. However, it may suggest succession planning is underway in case a contract extension is not agreed.
How Chiesa could help Liverpool
This deal may seem more like a market opportunity given the reported fee and Chiesa’s age, but there is an interesting tactical angle to it.
Over the course of his career, Chiesa has played across all three positions in attack. Liverpool have plenty of cover on the left but could do with alternatives to Mohamed Salah on the right and the Italian is a quality addition.
In their first two Premier League matches of the season, Liverpool have shown a marginal preference to attack through the left, recording 37 per cent of their attacking touches on that flank compared to 34 per cent on the right. It follows a trend from last season when 36 per cent of Liverpool’s attacking touches in the league came down the right, down from 39 per cent in 2022-23.
Part of the reason for this has been Salah’s transformation from a high-volume dribbler into an improved passer. The Egyptian’s 2.7 take-on attempts and 35 per cent success rate in the Premier League last season were his lowest in a full campaign since he joined Liverpool in 2017. However, his 5.2 progressive passes per 90 was the highest.
Not much has changed in this regard under Slot, with Salah attempting just four take-ons but playing 11 progressive passes across Liverpool’s first two league outings this season, as well as contributing goals and assists.
While Chiesa does not carry the same threat, he offers a ball-carrying profile closer to the Salah of old.
Chiesa has phenomenal close control with both feet, which makes it tricky for defenders to mark him. In the clip below, against Albania during Euro 2024, he feigns an inward run, cuts outside and then inside once the defender commits, before finding room between two defenders to cross with his left foot towards Lorenzo Pellegrini, who mistimes his acrobatic attempt.
Chiesa’s smarterscout graph – which gives players a series of ratings from zero to 99 based on either how often they perform a specific action or how effective they are at it — indicates the same. While Chiesa’s take-on success rate of 37 per cent could improve, his 2.4 carries into the penalty area per 90 was the highest among forwards in the league last season.
It is worth noting that Chiesa spent most of last season playing down the middle alongside or instead of Dusan Vlahovic. This helped him enjoy the second-best club season of his career in terms of league goals, with nine, but he scored just three times in their final 16 league games.
As The Athletic’s James Horncastle wrote in April, Chiesa leaned into his tendency of dribbling out wide, which saw him operate further away from goal in an already tactically ineffective Juventus attack.
Even when operating down the middle, Chiesa was not a great shooter, with only 34 per cent accuracy on 3.0 shots per 90, and did not contribute much defensively.
Creatively, Chiesa still possesses a spark that makes him a threat. He managed just two league assists last season but recorded an expected assisted goals (xAG) figure of 6.2, indicating that he created decent opportunities that were just not finished off.
A major feature of his creativity was his dribbling, with Chiesa’s 0.6 shot-creating actions (SCAs) from take-ons per 90 ranking him in the top four per cent of attackers in Serie A last season.
At Liverpool, Chiesa will play in a different system and on the right wing, where Slot has a steep drop-off in quality behind Salah. Gakpo and Jota are much more comfortable coming in off the left, while youngster Ben Doak is inexperienced, with his immediate future in doubt as well.
Chiesa showed glimpses of his pre-ACL injury explosiveness and off-the-ball speed while playing on the right for Italy at Euro 2024, which will be encouraging for Liverpool.
One worry about Chiesa, aside from his injury record, has been his occasional inability to follow tactical instructions. There is also the unknown factor of how he will react to not being a regular starter. He is likely to be limited to running at defenders in the latter parts of matches or against relatively weaker opposition in cup competitions, at least initially.
In that regard, he offers a decent tactical alternative to Slot, as well as relief for Salah, who missed 10 matches last season due to injury (one more than the previous three seasons combined).
(Top photo: Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
