It’s been a season to forget for Federico Chiesa following his move from Juventus to Liverpool. The Italian, who joined Liverpool for £12.5million in the summer, has made just three Premier League appearances this season and is yet to start a league match for the Reds.
Chiesa’s campaign has been in sharp contrast to Liverpool’s season as a whole, given Arne Slot is on the brink of being crowned a Premier League champion at his first attempt. Liverpool will resume after the international break with a healthy 12-point gap at the top of the table over second-placed Arsenal.
But the form of Chiesa will be worrying for Slot, with the ex-Fiorentina ace having already been linked with a move out of England, despite joining less than 12 months ago. However, according to the Liverpool star’s father, there’s no rush to get out, with Chiesa said to be content with life on Merseyside.
Speaking to Tuttosport, Chiesa’s dad revealed: “I can guarantee that Federico’s very happy at Liverpool. We hope he can win the Premier League, we have no regrets about Juventus. He’s so happy at Liverpool.”
One thing Chiesa won’t have been happy about is his absence from the Italy squad this month. The Euro 2020 winners are in the midst of a two-legged quarter-final clash against Germany in the Nations League, but Chiesa didn’t even get a look in for Luciano Spalletti’s squad.
Commenting on Chiesa’s season so far, Spalletti mused to La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Unfortunately, he has failed in England. He has only played 25 minutes,” a reference to Chiesa’s limited game time in the Premier League for Liverpool this season. He continued: “He must be more consistent. He needs more defensive phase.”
Regardless of Spalletti’s dismantling of his season so far, Chiesa is all but certain to add a Premier League winners’ medal to his collection in a few weeks. Slot’s side could etch their name in history as the record English champions as early as Sunday, 13 April when they host West Ham United at Anfield.
That scenario would require Arsenal to drop points along the way, but if the Gunners manage to win all of their remaining matches, they’ll max out their points tally at 85. For Liverpool, who currently sit on 70, it means they need just five more wins and a draw to secure a second league title in five years.