Liverpool flop Federico Chiesa tipped for a surprise January transfer after a new report detailed his struggles on Merseyside.
Chiesa was Liverpool’s only signing in Arne Slot’s first window in charge, with Liverpool paying £10 million late on after Juventus made him available for transfer.
The Italy international penned a four-year contract and plenty viewed the deal as a real coup for Liverpool given the fee.
However, Chiesa has played just four times for the Premier League and Champions League leaders – finding difficulty in gaining fitness and match rhythm.
In the Premier League, the former Fiorentina man has only managed 18 minutes of gametime as a substitute against Bournemouth early on in the season.
Chiesa has been absent for large periods with a muscle injury and after being named on the bench against Leicester, was not in the matchday squad in the 5-0 hammering of West Ham.
Chiesa has been tipped for an early return back to Italy, with Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli, Atalanta and Roma all believed to be keen. Wages could be a stumbling block, although a loan move could be a way of getting around it.
A new report from Anfield Watch explains why Chiesa has not got going at Liverpool. The outlet claims that Chiesa has become homesick and does not like the weather
He has failed to adapt to the different levels of intensity in English football, an issue Slot has even been vocal about along with sections of the media in Italy.
But in addition, it’s claimed Chiesa’s application and mentality has been a problem and would explain his lack of minutes.
Chiesa’s only start for the Reds was on the right flank in a 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham and he looked way off the pace in a 45-minute cameo against Southampton.
Slot explains Chiesa absence
Slot was asked about Chiesa not making his latest matchday squad and revealed that the priority for the 27-year-old is to improve his match fitness – meaning he was required to undergo extra training.
“With Federico I’ve said it many times already, we are working on two things,” he said in a press conference.
“We are working on his match fitness and whenever we can, we try to bring him on the bench with the team.
“But he was on the bench during the week and we thought it was better for him to have some extra training sessions instead of joining us, so it’s a constant balance we have to find between getting him fitter and fitter and letting him join the team.”