It was one of the most surprising transfer stories of the summer.

The news that Liverpool are exploring a possible deal for Juventus’ Italian striker Federico Chiesa, who is available for around €15 million (£12.7 million; $16.7 million) with just one year left on the 26-year-old’s contract, seemed to come out of nowhere.

But Liverpool’s interest is logical. Here we explain why and how Chiesa could fit in at Anfield.

---

Why does Liverpool want representation for this position?

Liverpool have been considering signing another winger all summer. They already have five very good attacking options in Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez. Chiesa, who prefers the right side of the pitch, would add experienced depth behind Salah, with new head coach Arne Slot so far using Jota and Nunez as centre-forwards and Diaz and Gakpo on the left.

Salah’s excellent performances and consistency mean that Liverpool did not need a specific replacement for the right winger position. Under previous manager Jurgen Klopp, left winger and number 9 were the regular rotation positions. This could suggest that Liverpool are looking to strengthen their attacking line with Salah, now 32, in order to rotate the Egyptian international more often to keep him as fresh as possible.

What does Slot expect from a winger?

Wingers are key players in Slot’s system. He likes them to be unpredictable and strong in their one-on-one duels, able to carry the ball and push forward while linking up with their teammates.

He is happy for them to move inside, allowing the team’s full-backs to overlap, but low crosses from the byline are also a feature of his system. Chiesa may have had a difficult season in 2023/24, but he is a versatile striker who seems to fit that profile.

Chiesa’s injury history is also a concern. He suffered a cruciate ligament tear in his knee in the 2021/22 season, setting him back significantly, but only missed six games for Juventus last season due to injury. Availability has become an increasingly important feature at Anfield as Liverpool look to avoid repeats of other signings who have been plagued by fitness issues.

However, Slot has a very good record of injury prevention at his previous clubs and there are hopes that can continue at Liverpool under the guidance of leading performance coach Ruben Peeters. Chiesa is unlikely to be a regular starter if he signs, so he could theoretically be treated accordingly.

Who else has Liverpool been linked with?

At the end of June, when Newcastle was plagued by profit and sustainability concerns, the opportunity arose to sign Anthony Gordon.

There was an agreement for the 23-year-old Liverpool player to move to Anfield for £75 million, while defender Joe Gomez was set to go the other way for £45 million, but no deal was reached.

Liverpool’s interest in Gordon, who predominantly plays on the left, has increased speculation about Diaz’s future. Rumours linking the Colombian with Barcelona have been circulating throughout the summer, but there has been no offer for the 27-year-old, who has three years left on his contract. Slot sees Diaz as a key player in his plans.

What could this mean for Salah’s future?

Chiesa can play on either wing but predominantly plays on the right, so it would be almost impossible for him to displace Salah this season.

Salah’s long-term future remains uncertain, however. The Egyptian is in the final year of his contract, turns 33 next summer, and talks over an extension have not yet begun. But he has started the season in good form, with two goals and an assist in his first two games.

If Liverpool sign Chiesa, it would not confirm that this will be Salah’s last season on Merseyside, but it could suggest that succession planning is underway should a contract extension not be agreed.

How Chiesa could help Liverpool

Given the reported transfer fee and Chiesa’s age (he turns 27 in October), this deal seems more like a market opportunity, but it also has an interesting tactical aspect.

Throughout his career, Chiesa has played all three positions in attack. Liverpool have enough cover on the left but could use alternatives to Salah on the right and the Italian would be a quality addition.

In their first two Premier League games this season, Liverpool have shown a slight preference for attacking down the left, recording 37 percent of their attacking touches on that side, compared to 34 percent on the right. This follows a trend from last season, when 36 percent of Liverpool’s attacking touches in the league came on the right, compared to 39 percent in the 2022/23 season.

One reason for this is Salah’s transformation from a high-volume dribbler to an improved passer. His 2.7 attacking attempts and 35 percent success rate in the 2023/24 Premier League were his lowest figures in a full season since joining Liverpool in the summer of 2017. However, his 5.2 progressive passes per 90 minutes were his highest figures in this metric during his Anfield career.

In this respect, not much has changed under Slot so far: Salah only attempted a tackle four times, but played eleven progressive passes in the first two league games against Ipswich Town and Brentford and also contributed goals and assists.

Although Chiesa does not pose the same threat, he has a ball-carrying profile that is closer to that of Salah of old.

The Italian has phenomenal ball control with both feet, making it difficult for defenders to mark him.

In the following clip from the match against Albania during Euro 2024 this summer, he fakes a run inside, cuts outside and then cuts inside as the nearest defender starts to move, before finding space between two opponents and crossing with his left foot towards Lorenzo Pellegrini, who misses his acrobatic attempt on goal.

Chiesa’s smarterscout pizza chart – which gives players’ games a range of ratings from 0 to 99 based on how often they perform a certain action or how effective they are at it – suggests the same thing. While Chiesa’s 37 percent control success rate still needs improvement, his 2.4 controls into the box per 90 seconds were the highest among strikers in Italy’s Serie A last season.

It is worth noting that Chiesa played in midfield for Juventus for most of last season, alongside or in place of Dusan Vlahovic. This helped him to the second-best club season of his career in terms of league goals with nine, but he only scored three goals in the Turin club’s final 16 league matches.

As The athleteAs James Horncastle wrote in April, Chiesa succumbed to his tendency to dribble out wide, which left him operating further away from goal in an already tactically ineffective Juventus attack. Even when he did operate through the middle, he wasn’t a great shooter, with just 34 percent accuracy on 3.0 shots per 90 minutes, and he didn’t do much defensively either.

Creatively, Chiesa still possesses a spark that makes him a threat. He managed just two assists in the league all season, but recorded an expected assist value (xAG) of 6.2, suggesting he was creating good chances that he just wasn’t capitalizing on. A key feature of his creativity was his dribbling. With 0.6 shot-creating actions (SCAs) from tackles per 90 minutes, Chiesa was in the top four percent of attackers in Serie A.

At Liverpool, Chiesa would play in a different system and on the right, where Slot has a steep drop in quality behind Salah. Gakpo and Jota are much more comfortable on the left, while 18-year-old Ben Doak is inexperienced and his immediate future at the club is also uncertain.

Chiesa flashed the explosiveness and speed without the ball that he had before his cruciate ligament injury when playing on the right for Italy at Euro 2024, which will encourage Liverpool.

One concern with Chiesa, in addition to his injury history, is that he is occasionally unable to follow tactical instructions. It is also unknown how he would react to not being a regular starter. He will likely be limited, at least initially, to a role of tackling tiring defenders in the closing stages of games or playing against relatively weaker opposition in the cup.

In this respect, he offers Slot a good tactical alternative and also a relief for Salah, who missed ten games last season due to injury – one more than in the three previous seasons combined.

(Top photo: Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)