While Federico Chiesa has shown flashes of the superstar player he was in the early years of his career before injuries got in the way, the now 28-year-old Italian has struggled for both fitness and minutes in two seasons at Liverpool and most believed he was certain to depart the club in the summer.
Rumours this summer have linked him with a return to Serie A, with Cesc Fabregas’ Como perhaps the most seriously linked interested party. However, the latest chatter out of Italy has Chiesa not ready
to call time on his Merseyside adventure quite yet, as the fan favourite is said to want another season with the Reds.
Chiesa never seemed to be fully trusted by departed head coach Arne Slot, with his chances limited even when fully fit. It’s worth noting, though, that even with limited playing time he struggled to be regularly available and that as much as anything may have been what limited his chances under Slot.
Still, with Andoni Iraola now in charge and Chiesa appearing to still be both committed to the club and to enjoy simply being a Liverpool player, it certainly seems as though it wouldn’t hurt to give him a chance to work with the new head coach in pre-season and for everyone to then gauge where things stand.
With Chiesa not at the World Cup this summer it means he will be in pre-season from day one, and if the Italian can click with Iraola and show signs of being able to stay fit it seems clear he would bring more value to the side staying than he would by being sold for the kind of fee the club would likely get.
