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When Liverpool signed Federico Chiesa from Juventus for a bargain £12.5 million in August 2024, the move was hailed as a coup.

The Italian winger, once valued at €80 million, arrived with pedigree as a Euro 2020 winner and a reputation for explosive, direct play.

Seven months later, however, Chiesa’s Anfield career remains stuck in neutral—a situation that has evolved from cautious integration to glaring marginalization under Arne Slot.

Chiesa’s signing came with caveats.

Having been frozen out at Juventus under Thiago Motta, the 27-year-old missed preseason training entirely, forcing Liverpool to oversee a months-long fitness rebuild.

Initial patience was expected, but even the most conservative projections could not have foreseen his current reality:

10 total appearances (171 minutes) across all competitions.

Since October, the winger has been an unused substitute in 14 of Liverpool’s last 18 matches, including pivotal clashes against Manchester City and Arsenal.

Even Jamie Carragher, writing in his Telegraph column, cast doubt on Chiesa, asserting:

“Last summer’s sole summer signing, Federico Chiesa, has contributed nothing?

Jota had a normal pre-season, well not normal as he was at the Euros, but he had a normal start with us and Federico did not.”

As a result, Chiesa’s Italy career has also been put on hold, with Azzurri manager Lucian Spalletti now offering a damning verdict.

What did Luciano Spalletti say about Federico Chiesa?

The international break is set to take place from March 17 to 25, with many of Liverpool’s European players involved in Nations League play-off matches.

However, Chiesa will not be one of them for Italy, with Spalletti claiming that the Liverpool attacker has ‘failed’ in the Premier League.

Speaking to Italian media, Spalletti said:

“Unfortunately, he has failed in England.”

“He has only played 25 minutes

He needs more defensive phase.”

Not exactly what one would want to hear from their national team coach, but not unexpected for the 27-year-old unfortunately.

Chiesa’s £130k/week wages complicate a permanent sale should the Reds want to go down that route.

But what is clear is that the situation for Chiesa on Merseyside can surely not drag into another season.

Speaking back in January, the Italy manager said that he hopes the former Juventus man sees more minutes at Anfield:

“We’re hoping that Chiesa can play with more continuity and that we can see him train and play regularly.”

“I would be very much in favor of having Chiesa under our watch in terms of the level of our football, to reintegrate him because those who have this quality of looking you in the eye and breaking the line in front of them to get to the next one… There aren’t many of them.”

But it seems that Spalletti has now lost patience as well, leaving Chiesa in a difficult spot approaching the end of his first full season at Liverpool.

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