It’s fair to say Federico Chiesa’s first season at Liverpool didn’t go how everyone would have hoped, with the 27-year-old Italy international making just 14 appearances totalling fewer than 500 minutes across all competitions. Most assumed he was set to make a quick departure and return to Serie A over the summer.
Instead, with Liverpool selling Darwin Nuñez and Luis Diaz and following the tragic death of Diogo Jota, Chiesa finds himself the fourth player for three attacking positions. Even if Liverpool were
to sign Alexander Isak, he would be fifth on the depth chart for a team expecting to play 60+ games in the coming season.
Last season, it was Jota who filled that role on the depth chart, and he played more than 1,800 minutes. In short, it now appears that if Chiesa stays, he will at the very least get chances. Which is what he got on Friday, coming off the bench as manager Arne Slot’s first attacking substitution—and scoring the winning goal.
Add in the clear fondness between the supporters who constantly sing his song despite his limited involvement and the player himself, who has made no secret of the fact he very much enjoys the idea of being a Liverpool player, and it’s perhaps not a surprise it now appears he wants to stay for the 2025-26 season.
At least that’s the story by way of Fabrizio Romano, and when it comes to insight into an Italian international we’re inclined to think he might have some inside information from the player’s agent in a case like this. And, if there is to be a Federico Chiesa redemption ark at Liverpool, we certainly wouldn’t complain.
Long one of the game’s top attacking talents, injuries have set back Chiesa’s career in recent years, but if Friday’s cameo is a hint that, just maybe, he’s getting back on track—and, just as importantly, if Slot is willing to trust him as a fourth or fifth choice forward—it would be nice if that could happen while he’s a Red.
