According to reports, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is ready to ‘discard’ one of his players who is ‘destined to leave’ for three reasons.
There has been a substantial overhaul at Anfield over the past couple of months, with head coach Slot and FSG building a new-look squad following last season’s Premier League triumph.
After Liverpool surpassed expectations under Slot to win their 20th Premier League title in 2024/25, the Dutchman has been heavily backed this summer as Liverpool were comfortably the biggest spenders in Europe.
Federico Chiesa was last season’s only signing, but it was a completely different story in the summer. They broke the British transfer record twice to sign Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, while they also spent heavily to acquire Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
This was expected to usher in a period of domination for Liverpool in the Premier League, though this is not currently going to plan.
The Reds relied on late goals and individual moments of quality from key players to get them out of trouble during their winning start to this campaign, though their luck has run out in recent weeks as they deservedly lost four games in a row against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Liverpool showed signs of promise as they returned to winning ways with a 5-1 victory against Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League group stages in midweek.
However, this will mean very little if Liverpool do not earn a much-needed win in the Premier League as they visit Brentford on Saturday night.
Ahead of this game, most of Liverpool’s players have underperformed, though Chiesa is one player who can hold his head high.
Chiesa has only been a bit-part player for Liverpool since moving to Anfield in the 2024 summer transfer window, but he has impressed in flashes this season and there have been calls for him to play more regularly.
Despite this, a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes claims Slot ‘doesn’t want’ Chiesa, who is ‘destined to leave’ and be ‘discarded’ in the coming months.
There are said to be three ‘factors influencing his departure’. The report claims:
‘First, there’s internal competition: Liverpool has numerous attackers who fit better into their system. This limits Chiesa’s opportunities.
‘Secondly, his adaptation: the transition from Juventus to English football was abrupt, and the competitive context of the Premier League has demanded more of him than in previous stages. Furthermore, the fact that its current value is degraded compared to its acquisition cost and initial expectations encourages the option of a transfer to minimise losses.’