Federico Chiesa has already been tipped to return to Serie A on loan after a “nightmare” start at Liverpool, but the reality appears to be far from that.
Chiesa has played only three times for Liverpool since his £12.5 million move from Juventus at the end of the summer transfer window, with just one of those as a starter.
The 27-year-old has missed the last four games due to injury and is not expected to be back for the trip to Arsenal on Sunday, with Arne Slot citing the increase in intensity in English football.
“Going to a league where the intensity may be higher than the Italian league, that makes it difficult for him to make the step towards the intensity levels the rest of the team is at,” Slot told reporters earlier this week.
That has led to rumours of a swift return to Italy, with CalcioMercato claiming that he could move back to Serie A on loan, with Inter Milan, AC Milan and AS Roma possible destinations.
“He’s extremely happy”
This report on his “nightmare” has been picked up by a number of publications both in England and in Italy, leading to suggestions that Chiesa is ‘homesick’.
But there is no evidence of this, and in fact Chiesa’s wife, Lucia Bramani, shared a video on Instagram of her watching on at Anfield as recently as Sunday.
The winger himself was hugely enthusiastic about his move to Liverpool, with that quickly rubbing off on his teammates – including Alisson.
“He arrived in our squad with a huge smile painted on his face,” the goalkeeper said last month.
“Everybody’s enthusiastic about Federico and he’s extremely happy about having this chance of playing in our squad.
“His quality, he shows it every day. We are lucky to work with him, he’s a top-level player who can help our team.”
“He’s signed a long-term contract”
While Slot admitted that it was a “big disappointment for [Federico] that he is going in and out of the training sessions all of the time,” it seems far from the truth to imply he is not happy with life on Merseyside.
CalcioMercato’s report details the possibility of returning to Serie A on a six-month loan in order to rebuild his fitness and gain match sharpness.
But that would simply be a sideways step for a player who will be looking to make up for lost time and adjust to Slot’s brand of football as quickly as possible when fit.
“I feel sorry for him, but he’s signed a long-term contract so we will see what he brings for us,” the head coach continued.
“But at the moment, unfortunately for him, he’s been with us one or two times in team selection and not more than that.”
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