Liverpool are considering a move for Juventus winger Federico Chiesa.
Chiesa, 26, has been made available for transfer and was not included in the Juventus squad for their final three pre-season friendlies earlier this month.
Liverpool sources maintain the club’s interest in Chiesa is exploratory, as it is with several other players who could be transfer targets in this window or in the future.
The Italy international joined Juventus from Fiorentina in a €50million deal (now £42.3m; $55.8m) that officially went through in the summer of 2022, having spent the previous two seasons on loan at the Turin side. He has one year remaining on his contract and Juventus value him at around €15m.
Should a deal for Chiesa materialise, he would join Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott and options out wide for new head coach Arne Slot. Chiesa would also become Liverpool’s first summer arrival, although they have agreed a deal to sign Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili which will see the goalkeeper spend the season on loan with the La Liga side.
Chiesa scored 10 goals and provided three assists in 37 games for Juventus last season and was then part of the Italy squad that were knocked out by Switzerland at the last-16 stage of the European Championship.
Last season was Chiesa’s first full campaign following his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained in January 2022. He was previously a key part of the Italy team that won the Euros in 2020, appearing in all seven games and starting in their quarter-final, semi-final and final.
Chiesa scored twice at the Euros as Italy won the competition three years ago (Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Chiesa is one of several former first-team players facing uncertain futures at Juventus under new head coach Thiago Motta. Wojciech Szczesny, Mattia De Sciglio, Daniele Rugani, Tiago Djalo, Arthur Melo, Hans Nicolussi-Caviglia, Weston McKennie, Filip Kostic and striker Arkadiusz Milik were all also excluded from friendlies in pre-season. Some of that group have since left the club.
“We were clear internally,” Motta said when asked about the group earlier this month. “We spoke with each of them.
“We’ve got good players who are used to playing regularly. The club is trying to find solutions for them and, for their own good and the good of everyone, they too have to find solutions as soon as possible.”
Chiesa was not included in the Juventus squad which beat Como 3-0 last Monday and has also been left out of tonight’s group to face Verona.
‘Avoiding a situation like last season is key’
Analysis by Liverpool correspondent Gregg Evans
The move for Chiesa should not come as such a surprise given the lack of transfer activity in the outfield department this summer.
Liverpool’s frontline is stacked with quality, but has not been modified for 18 months so the chance to bring in a player with his goalscoring history would come as a boost if the price is right.
Where he would fit in with Salah, Diaz, Jota, Gakpo, Elliott and Darwin Nunez all fighting for game-time in the forward positions remains to be seen.
But when Liverpool were light on numbers last season — and players struggled to find form when they returned from injuries — the league form deteriorated and the race for the title collapsed, so avoiding that situation again is key.
With Fabio Carvalho already out the door for £27.5million and Ben Doak attracting interest, the chance to bring in a proven, international-level goalscorer for a fraction of the money could prove to be good business.
A move for Chiesa, or another player in his position, is unlikely to change the situation around any of the current forward players with Liverpool looking to build on the squad they already have rather than weaken it.
(Top photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)
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