Federico Chiesa has become something of a cult hero at Liverpool, despite only being with the club for a season.
The Italian may have only just scored his first Premier League goal against Bournemouth last Friday, but with the way things look to be panning out, he’s set to stay this term.
There were plenty of talks at the start of the transfer window regarding the former Juventus man’s future, but since players such as Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have been sold on, there’s now more of a clear path for him to get into Arne Slot’s starting XI.
Arne Slot pictured on the Liverpool touchline in their Premier League game against Crystal Palace.
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
And, it’s clear that Slot now thinks highly of the Italian after what he said in his press conference ahead of Monday’s clash against Newcastle.
Arne Slot has seen something “totally different” about Federico Chiesa in pre-season
There’s no hiding from the fact that even though Chiesa only cost Liverpool around £12.5million, he performed well below par.
The attacker was given several chances to prove his worth, and even though the fans adored him, it felt like there was no future for him at Anfield.
However, while speaking to the media in his pre-Newcastle press conference, Slot made an admission about the way Chiesa has been since returning from pre-season.
“If he’s more available, then he already has more chances to impact our results or his playing time,” he said.
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“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 could become essential to Liverpool’s plans this season
Even though Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo are likely to be Slot’s preferred attacking trio this season, due to the lack of depth that Liverpool have among their ranks, Chiesa is likely to get plenty of game time.
The Italian clearly has bags of talent, which has been shown by some of the performances he put in during Euro 2020 when Italy won the tournament.
Indeed, the injury he sustained while with Juventus may have held him back a tad, but now he’s been with Liverpool for a full season, he’s likely to feel much more comfortable than he did when he first arrived at Anfield.
Federico Chiesa appeals during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at Anfield
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
And, if the Reds don’t manage to sign another attacker this summer, the Italian will be Slot’s fourth-choice attacker and will likely be required to play as a number nine.
If he can get himself into a decent run of form and prove his worth, there’s no reason why he can’t become a key cog in Slot’s plans for years to come.