Liverpool signed Italian winger Federico Chiesa from Juventus on 29th August 2024 for a reported fee of £10 million with additional conditional add-ons. The player’s career at Anfield, thus far, has been jaded by a recurring injury.
Chiesa is an extremely capable winger who can play in a variety of roles across the front line. Capable of striking the ball accurately with both feet, Chiesa is further a skilled dribbler whose short stature and strong acceleration render him a fearsome opponent. Having begun his professional career with Fiorentina, Chiesa secured a €44.6 million move to Juventus in July 2022 following a successful loan period with The Old Lady. Chiesa presently has 77 goals in 327 appearances for all clubs with a further 7 goals in 51 appearances for the Italian national team.
In January 2022, Chiesa ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a match against Roma and remained sidelined for approximately 10 months and, unfortunately, this accounted for one of the worst football injuries of that season. This injury has recurred a considerable number of times and has previously required specialist surgery:
Liverpool’s signing of Chiesa was widely regarded as a coup at a dramatically reduced price. The player had previously been subject to speculation stating a rumored transfer fee of approximately €60 million to the same club, but, in a recent interview with Correre Della Sera, Juventus Chief Executive Cristiano Giuntoli admitted that Chiesa was ‘surplus to requirements’. Ths was further evidence when Chiesa was excluded from the first three matchday squads of the season by new Juve’ boss Thiago Motta. However, it is hard to imagine that Chiesa’s injury record and the short period of time remaining on his contract did not significantly impact upon the agreed figure.
Since making the switch from Juventus, Chiesa made three appearances in the Premier League, EFL Cup and Champions League against Bournemouth, West Ham and AC Milan respectively. He registered an assist in the 5-1 thrashing of West Ham in September and has not appeared since.
Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, has attributed Chiesa’s absence to a lack of preparation for the enhanced physicality of the English Premier League: “He missed pre-season. I said this many times, and going to a league that is higher intensity than Serie A, we just faced two Italian teams so I can say this now”. A substantive analysis by Medium revealed that the English Premier League for both ‘intensity’ and ‘volume’ with the Serie A ranking considerably lower in all reviewed metrics. As such, the English Premier League can be considered a more physically demanding league and, as Slot noted above, Chiesa was not granted the usual pre-season preparations to allow him to come up to speed. This position, in my opinion, is wholly reasonable, but this has not negated a considerable degree of fan frustration
However, this frustration stems from a more general lack of incoming transfer activity at the club rather than a specific frustration with the player themselves. In a number of games in Klopp’s last season, a number of frailties were identified within the squad particularly in midfield and defense. To exacerbate this, Liverpool allowed Joel Matip’s and Thiago Alcantara’s contracts to expire and allowed both Bobby Clark and Stefan Bajcetic to join R.B. Salzburg. Liverpool attempted to sign defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad but were rebuffed at the last minute. Whilst Liverpool reported a minor loss in the period prior to the Chiesa signing, the club remained confident that sufficient funds were available for player transfers without significant amendments being made to the existing financial model. A number of fans subsequently perceived the lack of transfer activity, in a period in which it can be considered wholly required, to be an indication of a general unwillingness to invest on the owners behalf. As such, Chiesa was the only outfield player to join Liverpool in the summer and Chiesa’s absence from the squad is noted by a wide array of fans.
It would be inaccurate to suggest that Chiesa’s absence from the squad is intentional and every indication from the club and wider media concurs that Chiesa is doing his utmost to overcome his recurring injury. However, with the remainder of Liverpool’s forwards performing at exceptional standards, Chiesa may find that his injury is not the only hindrance to his return to first team football and may find his minutes limited to the large number of cup and Champions League games.
Upon signing the player at a heavily discounted price, officials within the hierarchy of the club would be well aware of the players injury record at both Fiorentina and Juventus and, one must imagine, that they remained confident the skilled physiotherapists and club doctors could help Chiesa overcome this record. It is clear that criticism towards the player remains undue and is mis-directed towards Liverpool’s recent shyness in the transfer market; it remains evident that the player can significantly contribute to Liverpool’s already excellent season.
Referenced Articles and Documents
Federico Chiesa injury troubles explained as Liverpool made to wait – Liverpool.com
Martin Zubimendi turns down Liverpool transfer to stay at Real Sociedad | Football News | Sky Sports
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