The signing of Federico Chiesa, in the context of the self-sustainability policy of FSG and Liverpool Football Club seems like something of an anomaly despite the bargain basement price of just £12.5m as per media reports.
On the surface, it appears to be the kind of transfer that FSG as an organisation have actually tried to distance themselves from in recent years. Following the unmitigated disaster that was the signing of Mario Balotelli in 2014, the club appeared to change course to favour a more considered, data-based approach to recruitment which often meant that players with serious injuries in their histories would not be considered. Chiesa is a player with a relatively poor injury record, who hasn’t necessarily scored that many goals across his career – although he did manage 10 in 37 appearances last term for Juventus – who comes with relatively large wage demands indicating the club could be revisiting territory on which they have been burned before.
There are, of course, a number of distinctions between the signing of Chiesa and that of Balotelli. Firstly, Balotelli came into a squad bereft of quality options in the final third of the pitch – his only competition being Fabio Borini, veteran Rickie Lambert and the relatively untried youngster Dani Pacheco. Furthermore, Balotelli was expected, quite unfairly, to fill the shoes of the departing Luis Suarez, a task that in truth he was never suitable for.
Chiesa with 50 caps for the Italian national team and a European Championships winners medal earned against England at Wembley in 2020 will come into a squad already quite superbly stocked with attacking talent. Mo Salah remains one of the best attacking players on the planet and Diogo Jota could be considered a world-class finisher. Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo are also excellent players with high ceilings who are all well capable of influencing football matches. In a squad with that kind of depth, Chiesa will be allowed the time and space he needs to build himself a platform on which to shine without the pressure of having to play a leading role in the team from day one.
However, given how well-stocked Liverpool already were in forward positions the potential for cynicism from the fan base creeps in. Why was the only signing that the club made that would immediately go into the first team a player in a position that Liverpool were seemingly already very well prepared for? Chiesa’s best position is on the left wing where Liverpool already have multiple options in Diaz, Gakpo and even Mo Salah can play there. The cynic in me would question the motives of the club, is this a cut-price replacement to allow one of Liverpool’s big attacking stars to head for the exit? Possibly Diaz out in January? or even to fill the void next summer should Mo Salah not put pen to paper on a new deal? On this, we can only speculate.
It does seem clear however that the price is a huge factor here. The fact that Juventus, another giant of European football, were willing to let a player that four years ago was the envy of many of Europe’s elite football clubs, go for such a meagre fee is a major reason why Liverpool were interested. But, That raises three big new questions. Firstly, why were Juventus happy to allow a potentially world-class player to leave for such a nominal fee and secondly, why are Liverpool looking for bargain basement deals when a year ago they apparently wanted to sign Moses Caicedo for £115m? Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, how does Federico Chiesa impact the team and what role might he play in Arne Slot’s squad?
To address the first question, in an interview this week, Italian football expert James Horncastle alluded to the physical condition of the player following his recovery from ACL surgery, suggesting he “may not fully trust his own body” in the same way he did pre-injury. This injury was sustained in 2022 and he missed 45 games for Juventus. For context, Virgil van Dyke sustained the same injury against Everton in 2020 and missed 57 games and question marks continue to linger about the extent to which the Liverpool captain was able to recover his pre-injury conditioning. Of course, comparing injuries is reductive and misses the point that different players (who are people) recover differently to each other but the suggestion that Chiesa may never fully recover his physical peak may go some way to explaining why Juventus were keen to offload him.
Post-surgery, his injury record has actually been fairly mixed, missing 27 games in the two following years through knocks and muscle complaints. Hardly ideal but not disastrous. Positioning is likely to be another key factor. At Juventus last season Chiesa played a more central, support striker role rather than his preferred position on the left. Juventus may have arrived at the conclusion that trying to force square pegs into round holes was not the best solution for their squad and for Chiesa the opportunity to get minutes in his preferred position, albeit with reduced importance in the squad, may have been attractive to both parties.
From the perspective of Liverpool football club and their recruitment team, securing the services of a 26-year-old Italy international with a potentially very high ceiling for peanuts to augment an already very good squad just made sense. This may also point to a general lack of similar suitable options, available at any price, on the market. The club will also fully understand that should the player fail to impress he could be sold on in 12 months for considerable profit.
This partly answers the second question. Whilst many Liverpool fans were hoping to see a world-class no.6 walk in the door and perhaps a new option a centre-back, it does appear that lack of realistic targets available on the transfer market has played a significant role in the failure to acquire either although the collapse of the deal to bring in Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, whilst somewhat of an embarrassment for the club, does demonstrate that deals were being sought and that there is money to spend.
Finally, and from the perspective of the Liverpool fanbase, how will the club’s new Italian superstar have an impact where it matters – on the pitch? It’s clear that when at his best Chiesa offers something different to Liverpool’s other forwards. He is fast, direct, has a good eye for goal and works hard with and without the ball – in many ways he fits the profile of a Liverpool player perfectly and given time and the right support, he could be a huge success.
Given the slightly more conservative and compact style of Arne Slot’s opening two Premier League games, when compared with the “heavy metal” football style of his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, Chiesa, in the short term at least, may be deployed as an impact substitute coming from the bench to try and unlock tight games. This afternoon’s game Vs Manchester United could be the perfect opportunity for the player to do just that, on his debut, should he feature.
With no other big-money players coming into the Liverpool squad this season and perhaps a feeling there’s something of a general malaise regarding transfer policy since the club won their first title for 30 years in 2019, the question has to be asked, do the current owners have the ambition required to put Liverpool back to the top of the pile? My feeling is that Liverpool fans should not panic. A careful and financially state transfer policy, overall, is not an unhealthy thing to have and should you still be feeling disappointed then just remind yourself of those attacking options of 10 years ago; Borini, Balotelli and Lambert. Then sit back and enjoy watching one of the best selections of attacking talent in the world who Liverpool currently have at their disposal.
The squad going forward has some big challenges to come no doubt and investment will be badly needed – FSG will eventually have to answer those questions – but we still have plenty of reason to be optimistic and, after Sunday’s dominant victory at Old Trafford, we can all smile as widely as Federico Chiesa did when he signed for our beloved club. If his infectious enthusiasm is anything to go by, Liverpool could have struck gold with their new acquisition.
