- Chiesa managed only 104 minutes of playing time in the Premier League.
- He joined from Juventus for £10 million last summer but has found himself short of playing opportunities.
Liverpool Forward Federico Chiesa acknowledges that returning to Italy might be "worth considering" this upcoming summer.
The 27-year-old concluded a disappointing first season in England , where he appeared only 14 times after joining later in August through a £10 million transfer, Premier League victor is aiming for a comeback and is scheduled to join pre-season training on July 8.
However, when questioned regarding his potential comeback to his home country, the Italian national team member stated to La Gazzetta dello Sport :' That's worth considering over the summer.'
'I share excellent rapport with Liverpool alongside my family and manager, and our aim is to prepare well for the upcoming season.'
We'll discover the optimal solution for all involved. Each day, I utilize a Liverpool program to ensure peak condition for the assessments on July 8th.
'Even though not part of the team anymore (' Juventus I managed to get into excellent shape through training, yet I felt like I lacked match practice with friendly games. Starting afresh at Liverpool set me back quite a bit.
'I am hoping next season will be my turn. My dream is to compete in the World Cup.'
Upon arriving in Merseyside, Chiesa was not in good shape as he had been sidelined by Thiago Motta at his previous club in Turin and did not participate in preseason training. Consequently, he also lacked the sharpness needed for competitive matches.
The winger struggled initially during the first few months of the season, always being left behind, which made it difficult for them to secure a spot ahead of their competitors.
He could manage only a scant 104 minutes of soccer action in the Premier League, starting just once, which was during a game against Brighton in the second-to-last match of the season when the league title had already been secured.
Nevertheless, even though Chiesa’s talents weren't utilized through the entire season, Liverpool manager Arne Slot stated recently that he sees a future for him at Anfield.
Does he have a future here? Absolutely, he does," stated Slot. "Absolutely. I believe every player representing our team here has a promising future with us.
If he returns fully fit next season, having not been so much during the initial part of this term but gradually improving thereafter, the logical progression would be more game time. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to provide him with that opportunity.
But I can provide him with game time during the preseason, allowing him to get into shape and subsequently achieve greater heights.
Chiesa naturally thrives as a winger on the right side of the field. However, with Mo Salah consistently occupying that spot, Chiesa found fewer chances to play, particularly when Salah was helping lead Liverpool to their 20th championship.
Slot additionally mentioned: "Considering his quality, he merits more game time, but sadly for him, he’s competing against Mo Salah. On the left side, he faces competition from Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz. All three players have enjoyed an outstanding season."
For a prolonged period, he wasn't as fit as the rest of them. This didn’t aid him at first. Later, since the others performed exceptionally well, there was no cause to alter the situation.
'Does he have what it takes to join our team? Absolutely. However, I’ve consistently believed that Lucho, Cody, and Mo merited the trust I placed in them.'
Chiesa has been associated with clubs such as Napoli and Atletico Madrid, however, there hasn’t been substantial talk about him leaving just yet.
He has acknowledged that he wouldn’t rule out returning to Turin, yet currently, there’s no indication that this might happen.
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