Liverpool player linked with latest club ahead of January - 'can make big splash again'

Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa has been linked with a potential new loan move ahead of the January transfer window.

Chiesa has struggled to gain fitness after arriving at Anfield in the summer. He signed the Reds for £10 million from Juventus, although he was short of match fitness after being frozen out of the Serie A outfit's plans.

After building up sharpness, Chiesa made three appearances for Liverpool before suffering an injury. As a result, he missed the past nine games with the Reds topping the Premier League table and Champions League standings. Because he did not have a proper pre-season, Anfield head coach Arne Slot has admitted it's been difficult for Chiesa to get up to speed.

The Italy international has been linked with a potential loan move back to his homeland when the transfer window opens in January. Now reports in Turkey suggest that Galatasaray are also keen. According to Fotomac, head coach Okun Buruk believes that Chiesa ‘can make a big splash again' in Istanbul and is a player who the Super Lig champions have tracked for a while.

When asked last month, Slot insisted that he has not contemplated Chiesa departing Liverpool when the market reopens. And speaking before the Reds' 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Slot is adamant the ex-Fiorentina man can be an asset for the Reds.

"It is difficult for a player who missed out on pre-season and playing pre-season games and training sessions," said Slot. "You have to give a player more time to get to the intensity levels. It is a difficult balance to get him where we want but we are trying and he is trying everything he can to get to these levels.

"Once he is at that physical level we will benefit from having him. At this moment we expect him back during the international break and then he should be with us after the international break normally."