Arne Slot is confident he will see more from Federico Chiesa in a Liverpool shirt this season, describing the Italian as being “totally different” this time around.
Chiesa is set to stay at Liverpool beyond the transfer window, having returned from the summer break with a renewed focus and improved fitness.
Though the forward missed out on the pre-season tour of Asia and courted interest from a number of Serie A clubs, he made a crucial impact scoring the winner off the bench in the Premier League opener.
It is unlikely that one goal turned his fortunes around, but the narrative has certainly changed since the 4-2 win over Bournemouth.
Addressing reporters in his pre-Newcastle press conference on Thursday, Slot was asked if he saw Chiesa playing a bigger role this season.
“If he’s more available then he already has more chances to impact our results or his playing time,” he explained.
“So yeah, but then it’s about him staying as fit as he is in the moment.
“I see a totally different Federico now than through large parts of last season.
“Which is completely normal, because he missed out on the whole pre-season and then came into a Premier League rhythm in terms of amount of games and in terms of intensity.
“He’s in a much better place now and, as we can all see, when we needed a goal and I looked to the bench I only had him and Rio, a 16-year-old, as attacking options.
“For me, although Rio did really well in pre-season, it was quite a normal choice to make to bring [Chiesa] in and he delivered.”
Federico Chiesa celebrates vs Bournemouth, Anfield (Alamy Images)
Chiesa has reiterated that he is happy at Liverpool and as it stands he should be in line for an increase in minutes, not only due to his fitness but also the options available to Slot.
Having lost Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz over the summer, Slot’s current senior attacking options are Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike along with Chiesa.
Rio Ngumoha is available in support, but Liverpool also sanctioned the £25 million sale of Ben Doak to Bournemouth earlier this week, reducing their options further.
While there are hopes of reinforcing the forward line before the transfer deadline on September 1, that clearly shows there is more confidence in Chiesa to not only avoid injury but also to make an impact when called upon.