Why have Liverpool signed Federico Chiesa?

The inside track on why Richard Hughes and his recruitment staff have struck a £12.5m deal for the Italian forward.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

When so much focus has been on Liverpool’s need for a defensive midfielder this summer, supporters might well ask why priority has been given to the signing of yet another attacker in Federico Chiesa.

But, when the club’s sporting director Richard Hughes spoke of being ‘opportunistic’ in the market at his unveiling back in July, it was a genuine reflection of the Reds’ strategy rather than a throwaway mark.

And the signing of Chiesa is perhaps the perfect encapsulation of that plan given few would have expected a sixth forward of such repute to be targeted in this window.

The club’s openness to doing such a deal was founded in a desire to avoid the burnout that has plagued Liverpool in the latter stages of recent seasons.

It hasn’t just been a case of players running out of steam late on, but also constantly suffering injuries in the months prior as a result of overuse.

And, to that end, it certainly helps to have a player who can soak up minutes across a number of forward positions over the course of a long campaign. 

With that in mind, Chiesa is capable of playing right, left, and in a central role, and it is his status as a rare right-footer who thrives on his natural side that is most exciting to recruitment staff as they look to protect Mohamed Salah.

Of course, versatility alone wouldn’t have been enough to secure his move to Anfield, with Liverpool having shown on countless occasions that they will only move for the right player.

But there is confidence that they have secured exactly that in Chiesa, having tracked the 26-year-old since his emergence at Fiorentina.

In the intervening years, hopes of actually recruiting him appeared to be outlandish as deserved valuations of £100m were regularly thrown about.

However, circumstances have conspired to turn the dream of bringing Chiesa to Anfield into a reality this summer.

One of those is the player’s struggles with injury, which Liverpool are hopeful will become a thing of the past with the help of Slot and a backroom team who boasted an impressive availability record at Feyenoord.

Another is the fact that Chiesa had entered the final year of his contract, forcing Juventus to strike a cut-price deal in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer in 12 months’ time. 

As a result of those conditions, the Reds have agreed to pay an initial £10m with a further £2.5m in add-ons that will only be triggered in the event of a Champions League and Premier League win.

In a market that has seen Chelsea pay £52m for Pedro Neto and £46.3m for Joao Felix, Anfield insiders are convinced they have bagged a bargain.

Chiesa has also agreed to the same salary he was on at Juventus, which is estimated to be in the region of €5m (£4.2m) a year, or around £81,000 a week. 

And that is despite the player having received far more lucrative offers from elsewhere - including Saudi Arabia - that might have turned the head of a lesser character.

The decision to snub those riches owed much to an impressive Liverpool sales pitch, excitement over the quality of the squad, and performances during the early games of the Slot era.

Having watched from afar, Chiesa believes he will be a strong fit for the combination of aggressive but technical football the Dutchman is bringing to Anfield.

He is also excited to challenge himself in the Premier League having long considered making the move to England.

Of course, the true test of any signing is what happens when they take to the pitch and, in the case of those who have previously suffered injuries, just how often that occurs. 

But Liverpool are certainly excited by the potential of their archetypal ‘opportunistic’ signing, even if he isn’t the No.6 most craved.