Liverpool suffer new Federico Chiesa 'blow' as Arne Slot does not get what he'd prefer

It’s been somewhat of a stuttering start for Federico Chiesa at Liverpool.

Following his arrival from Juventus on the penultimate day of the summer transfer window, his Anfield career has very much had a soft launch. Given that he signed short of match fitness, that was always going to be the case.

Liverpool were able to sign the winger for a bargain £10 million as he was frozen out of the Italian giants’ plans. As a consequence, his sharpness took a hit and the Reds’ chief priority was building that up to the Premier League level.

So far, Chiesa has made three appearances for Liverpool - two coming off the bench before making his full debut in a 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham. That must have felt like a pivotal juncture, one that he could build on and start playing more of a prominent role in Arne Slot’s plans.

But a setback suffered in training meant that Chiesa was absent the Reds’ wins over Bologna and Crystal Palace before the second international break of the campaign. And it might well have cost him a spot in the Italy squad.

Chiesa had been omitted from Azzurri duty the previous month. Manager Luciano Spalletti prudently thought it would be best if the ex-Fiorentina man used the hiatus to acclimatise to his new surroundings and improve fitness. And while Italy are having a revolution after crashing out of the last 16 of Euro 2024, Chiesa has not been ruled out of Spalletti’s plans along with Napoli’s Matteo Politano.

“We have decided to rejuvenate the team as much as we can, but these two are still of an accessible age and they are also in our thoughts,” Spalletti said recently. “We have to be careful, because we rely more on the two strikers after changing the way we play. (We need) players who know how to do a bit of everything on the pitch, showing the willingness to take on the responsibility of multiple roles as well.”

Yet Chiesa’s setback has denied him the chance of being involved in Nations League games against Belgium and Israel. Chiesa will remain on Merseyside. And, in truth, it may been regarded as a blow for Liverpool. Linking up with Italy would have been Chiesa a chance to train competitively for a sustained period. He could well have got minutes under his belt in the country’s two fixtures, too.

Certainly, Slot believes it is beneficial for Darwin Nunez, who has had his international ban suspended and can play for Uruguay, to jet off to South America. Nunez has been on the periphery of things at Liverpool so far this term and is set to get playing time for La Celeste.

Ahead of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, Slot said before it was confirmed Nunez could feature for Uruguay: “I would have preferred him to go because I think it is always good for a player to go to his national team. They like to see their team-mates again.

“He would have probably played two games, at least one, but I think both because he is a starter over there and, like you guys are telling me constantly, he hasn’t started that much over here. It would have been good for him to get some playing time there.”

In truth, Chiesa was always likely to be a fringe player this season. The right-wing spot in Liverpool’s line-up very much belongs to Mo Salah. On the left-hand side, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo have made barnstorming openings and are battling it out.

But once the campaign restarts, the Reds have a number of challenges that will truly test their credentials. Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen are all to come. Slot would liked his entire squad to have been fine-tuned, but Chiesa may still be searching for peak condition.