Federico Chiesa has spent two years at Liverpool operating almost entirely in the margins, yet the underlying numbers tell a story that does not quite match his standing in the squad.
Across the 2025/26 Premier League season the Italian registered two goals and one assist from roughly 318 minutes of football, a return of 0.62 goals per 90 minutes and 0.93 goal involvements per 90.
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His non penalty expected goals figure of 0.67 per 90 placed him among the most productive attacking players in the division on a rate basis.
The problem was never output.
It was opportunity, with just one league start across the entire campaign.
That context matters now more than ever.
Signed from Juventus in August 2024 for a fee of around 12 million euros, Chiesa arrived as a calculated gamble on a player whose explosiveness had survived serious injury.
He collected a Premier League title medal in his first season and remains under contract at Anfield until June 2028, but Arne Slot never trusted him with a sustained run in the side.
In total he made 36 appearances in all competitions across that spell while starting only five of them, a statistic that captures his status better than any argument could.
According to Foot Mercato, the most significant question about his future now comes from Spain.
Atletico Madrid have made their move for Chiesa and continue to track him, with Diego Simeone a long admirer of the profile.
The French outlet reports that any concrete approach has been tied to the resolution of the Julian Alvarez situation, the dominant issue at the Metropolitano this summer, and that Los Colchoneros will only accelerate once the Argentine’s future is settled.
Chiesa, for his part, has never pushed for the Spanish capital.
Foot Mercato adds that Roma, Napoli, Como and Fiorentina have all made genuine enquiries in recent months without opening advanced negotiations, largely because the player has consistently made clear that he wants to stay on Merseyside.
He is settled, he values the club and the league, and he wants to persuade Andoni Iraola that he deserves a bigger role in the rotation.
Should an exit become unavoidable, a return to Serie A would be his preference over Madrid.
Liverpool’s position is rather more open.
The Reds are willing to listen to offers, but the departure of Mohamed Salah has thinned an attack that no longer looks as intimidating as it did twelve months ago, and that alone hands Chiesa a genuine opening under a new head coach.
Much may still depend on Bradley Barcola.
If that pursuit accelerates in the closing weeks of the window, the calculation at Anfield shifts quickly.
For now, Chiesa is betting on himself.