There are a large number of Liverpool supporters who just want the club to sign players. Some people rarely think about the importance of squad harmony or of how difficult it is to improve upon the team that has given us so much joy in recent years. Instead, they simply want a new shiny thing and be damned with the consequences.
For such people, the imminent arrival of Federico Chiesa from Juventus is worth celebrating simply on account of it meaning that the Reds have brought someone in, but for the rest of us there are certainly question marks around his signing that suggest it is, at the very least, a slightly risk one to make.
His Injury Record is Patchy
There is little doubting the ability of Federico Chiesa. He burst onto the scene in 2016 having made his way through Fiorentina’s youth academy, scoring 34 times in 153 competitive appearances, which earned him a call up to the Italian national side. That included playing for the Italians at UEFA Euro 2020, helping them to win the competition whilst being named in the Team of the Tournament.
He moved to Juventus in the October, initially on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy. He settled we,, scoring a match-winning goal against Atalanta in the final of the Coppa Italia in 2021, but his following season didn’t start well at all.
Chiesa at that price is worth it. It reflects his contract status, his injury history, and his value as someone who has only once got into double figures in A too. Needs a change and a more expansive set up to show he is the player who turned it on in two games at Euro 2021.
— James Horncastle (@JamesHorncastle) August 28, 2024
Having scored a record-equalling fourth Champions League game in which he scored in the September, Chiesa suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the January of 2022 that ruled him out for seven months. In the end, he was missing for ten months, not returning to action until the November. That means that he is a risk, given not only the usual long-term affects of an ACL injury but also the physical nature of the Premier League.
Football journalist Daniele Verri said that he is ‘very prone to injury‘, which might well be a slight exaggeration, but is still something that the Reds will have to bear in mind moving forward.
What Does it Mean for Other Players?
The arrival of Chiesa seems like good news for Mo Salah, insomuch as the Egyptian can be given some time to rest in games when he doesn’t need to start. Salah is getting older now but remains pretty much the only player who is being trusted in the right forward berth.
Although Luis Diaz has played out there in the past, it is Salah who will start if he’s fit enough to do so. If he isn’t, however, the Reds have been used to makeshift solutions rather than an ideal one, which means Salah barely getting a rest. What we want more than anything is for the Egyptian King to be at the top of his game whenever he plays, not running on fumes.
@allaboutliverpool_fc Salah “last season” #football #liverpool #mohamedsalah
With Salah entering the last year of his contract, the arrival of 26-year-old Chiesa as a player who prefers playing off the right means that the pressure is off Liverpool trying to get him to agree a new contract. It also means that the club has six top-class attackers, so if it is felt that someone like Darwin Núñez isn’t fitting or Cody Gakpo is surplus to requirements, we can move them on and still be well-placed to cope with the demands of a long season.
Similarly, if Diogo Jota gets one of his injuries then, presuming that Chiesa is fit, we’ll be able to give him time to recover without the need to rush him back as we have in the past.
Will it be the Last Signing?
As things currently stand, there aren’t many other names that Liverpool have been linked with. Although it looked as though Anthony Gordon would be signed earlier in the summer, it now seems likely that the former Everton player will remain at Saudi Arabian-owned Newcastle United for at least a few more months.
Whether the arrival of Chiesa means that a move for Gordon is less likely will almost certainly depend on what happens with the likes of the aforementioned Diaz, Núñez and Gakpo. Meanwhile, most Liverpool fans would say that the club could do with a midfielder and a defender before the window is shut.
The good news is that the signing of Chiesa is not going to have much of an impact on defensive or midfield signings. The bad news is that the transfer window is only open for a couple more days and there are no real links being spoken about from the reliable journalists. With Joe Gomez being linked with a move to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur or Aston Villa, losing the versatile centre-back would be bad news if he wasn’t replaced.
Then there is the fact that Ryan Gravenberch has impressed in the DM position, but if he were to get injured then we’d be a bit stuffed. It feels like a lot of work for Richard Hughes to do, but can he pull it off?
