REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
Liverpool have had an excellent start to life under Andoni Iraola, and the new manager is beginning to form a great bond with his squad.
The Reds have started life brilliantly in the Premier League, with just two defeats in their opening nine games, and both coming against Arsenal and Manchester City at Anfield in closely-contested games.
But with a razor-thin squad, Iraola has had to navigate some major injury concerns and selection dilemmas, with key players being out of form too. Despite that, several players have barely featured for the manager, and it's evident that they have no future at Anfield beyond 2027.
Harvey Elliott is someone who had pre-season to work under the manager, but he instead was allowed to leave on loan to Valencia once again and has struggled to make any sort of positive impact in Spain.
Another player who has managed to stick around this season is Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo. But it's clear now that the only reason he is still at the club is that nobody wanted him in the summer, with Iraola yet to use him for even a single minute in any competition.
Instead, those minutes have gone to youngsters Trey Nyoni and James McConnell, who have taken their opportunity to shine and have now become fully fledged members of the first-team.
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But while it's evident that Endo has no future at Anfield, considering he has been left out of the Champions League squad entirely and is yet to get on the pitch, there is another star who is equally out of Iraola's plans and is highly unlikely to stay at the club beyond 2027.
Federico Chiesa has been one of the most pointless signings at Liverpool in recent years, and his new opportunity under a new manager has led to the same results as under previous management.
The £120,000-a-week Italian has racked up just two minutes of action in the Premier League, has been left out of the Champions League squad, and didn't feature in the EFL Cup against either Tottenham or Chelsea despite the team being heavily rotated. In fact, he finds himself behind the likes of Lewis Koumas and McConnell, despite his international experience.
A Bar Chart Depicting Chiesa's Liverpool Minutes by Season Including 202425, 202526 and 202627
Liverpool Must Get Rid of Chiesa in January
Liverpool's Federico Chiesa during the warm up before facing Barnsley
When Chiesa joined the club there was a hope that he could rediscover the form that saw him lead Italy to glory at Euro 2020 with his dazzling dribbling and work rate. Since his knee injury at Juventus, however, he has struggled to find any sort of rhythm, and Anfield just hasn't worked out for him.
The club didn't splash a big fee to bring him in, but his big wages are surely a problem when it comes to moving him on. But if Liverpool are intent on getting to the next level, they need to free Iraola of players he has no plans for as quickly as possible.
Chiesa would almost certainly prefer to be somewhere that he is playing more regularly or at least getting opportunities to earn a place in the team, rather than rotting away on the bench without even so much as a crumb of a chance.
It's evident Chiesa has no future at Liverpool under Iraola, and a move makes sense for everyone.
Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde
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