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Liverpool man told £115k-a-week Anfield move was ‘wrong’ as pundit bemoans transfer error
This was one of those transfers which, depending on how things turned out, was always likely to be either a Liverpool masterstroke or, on the other hand, nothing short of madness.
And, while the day’s still young, the dial is shifting towards the madness side of the scale as things stand.
Rather brutal comparisons were made with Arthur Melo when Liverpool snapped up Federico Chiesa during the summer transfer window. Another highly-talented player arriving from Serie A but – in a classic case of ‘too good to be true’ – bringing with him a pretty worrisome injury record.
Arthur, of course, would never manage a single Premier League appearance under Jurgen Klopp. At least Chiesa – making his one and only top-flight outing in September’s 3-0 win over AFC Bournemouth – has gone one step further than the now-Fiorentina playmaker.
But with Chiesa needing minutes to build up his match sharpness, and with Arne Slot in no real position to guarantee him game time due to the depth of Liverpool’s feared frontline, one wonders if anyone really stands to benefit from a £10 million deal which, to be truthful, was as cheap as chips for a reason.
Federico Chiesa told he made a mistake swapping Juventus for Liverpool
“I love this guy. For me, he was wrong to go to Liverpool,” Massimo Orlando, who represented Fiorentina, Atalanta and AC Milan in Serie A, tells . “English football is physical, very tough and Chiesa suffers from it.
“I see him more [suited to life in] Italy or Spain, where there is a bit more technique and tactics.”
Orlando, when pressed on which Serie A club is most in need of a player of Chiesa’s talents, argues that a Roma side already on their third manager of the campaign should be the first in the queue if Liverpool were tempted to cut their losses.
“Who should take Chiesa in a moment of difficulty? Roma, they should go for Federico,” Orlando adds, the Gialorossi bringing a 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri back to the capital in an attempt to salvage a disastrous season.
“[Signing Chiesa] would be very convenient.”
Arne Slot explains Chiesa absence at Anfield
According to reports, Chiesa expected a greater role in Slot’s plans at Liverpool.
Chiesa allegedly earns £115-a-week at Anfield too, an outlay looking more and more expensive with every week that passes and the Italy international is again left out of the matchday squad.
Chiesa is expected to feature more regularly in the coming weeks, Slot explains, but he is likely to remain behind Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Mo Salah in the pecking order.
“I would not use the word concern but it is far from ideal for him and us,” Slot admits. “It is difficult for a player who missed out on pre-season and playing pre-season games and training sessions. You have to give a player more time to get to the intensity levels.
“It is a difficult balance to get him where we want but we are trying and he is trying everything he can to get to these levels. Once he is at that physical level we will benefit from having him.
“At this moment, we expect him back during the international break and then he should be with us after the international break normally.”