A deep dive into Federico Chiesa's path to Liverpool

Liverpool’s interest in Federico Chiesa eventually developed into a real deal. The club reached a £10 million contract with the Italian International before the summer window’s closure, with a £2.5 million bonus based on the performance.

He is expected to make his Liverpool debut in Sunday's match against rival Manchester United.

Being the son of Erico Chiesa, a phenomenal football player and former Italian representative, Chiesa doesn’t live under his father’s shadow. Instead, he walked through an abnormal path to reach his prime.

Chiesa’s Early Career with Fiorentina and Rise to Prominence

Growing up, Chiesa found his interest in football under the influence of his father, Erico. He usually collected different kinds of jerseys that his father Erico wore.

Also, Erico occasionally held little Chiesa in his arms after finishing the matches, or even ran toward him, who once was a football child mascot standing on the side of the pitch, for celebration after scoring for his team. 

Despite being the son of a star father, Chiesa didn’t feel any pressure when taking classes in an international school in Fiorentina, where most of his classmates were unfamiliar with football and didn’t know his father.

Under appropriate guidance from his father, Federico was able to concentrate on achieving the ultimate goal of playing in the Series A.

During his early period with Fiorentina, Chiesa had his first taste of bitterness as he earned no playing time in the youth team, which frustrated his confidence, even resulting in a thought of retiring from the pitch.

But Erico rescued Chiesa’s career, encouraging his son to treat every training session as a “match” and learn from the team matches while sitting on the bench. 

In 2016, he made his competitive debut for Fiorentina in that season, where he scored 34 goals in a total of 153 appearances (2016-2020).

His impressive performances caught the attention of Juventus, leading to his move to the club in the 2020–21 season. 

In his first season with Juventus as a loaned player, Chiesa made his performance more productive, scoring 14 goals in 42 appearances.

Chiesa helped the team win the Coppa Italia, where he scored a match-winning goal against Atalanta, and Supercoppa Italia titles, establishing himself as a crucial player for the team.

A Season-ending Injuries and Recovery

While getting his best form on the pitch with Juventus, Chiesa's career has been significantly impacted by injuries.

In January 2022, he suffered an ACL during a match against Roma. This injury ruled him out for nearly a year, causing him to miss 42 games for Juventus across all competitions.

Chiesa described the 10-month recovery period as "endless" and "terrible," highlighting the physical and mental challenges he faced during this time.

Despite these setbacks, Chiesa's determination and resilience shone through. He made his return to the field in a Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on November 2, 2022, and was subsequently recalled to the Italian national team.

His journey back to form was not easy as he aimed to rediscover the rhythm in the remainder of the 2022-23 season. But he eventually made a statement in the following year.

2024 was a busy year for Chiesa. Besides getting married to his girlfriend Lucia Bramani, his footprints on the pitch brought him a series of achievements.

In the 2023-24 Serie A season, he made an impressive resurgence, setting up his personal record with nine goals and two assists in his 33 appearances.

Simultaneously, he also won the Coppa Italia with the team. After the season, he then received another massive call-up from the national team to compete at Euro 2024.  

Chiesa’s Potential Impact on Liverpool

A strong come-back from the ACL setback demonstrates Chiesa’s outstanding mental toughness and winning mentality, but we also can’t ignore that he is a striker with excellent speed, scoring ability and dribble skills.

Despite tallying only two assists last season with Juventus, Chiesa recorded a decent figure of 6.2 in xAG (Expected Assisted Goals). 

Although Liverpool’s frontline is stacked with multiple productive players, Chiesa’s addition can distribute the workload, especially considering the team would be playing the Champions League and domestic cup matches while playing the Premier League. 

However, a concern lies in his consistency of scoring. According to The Athletic, he only generated 33.8 percent accuracy on 3.0 shots per 90 minutes last season. In the final 16 Serie A matches last season, Chiesa only acquired three goals.

The stacked attacking ladder also challenged Arne Slot to distribute the playing minutes.

Throughout the first two PL matches, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo were two typical players that Slot snubbed. Amidst the situation, Chiesa may find it difficult to earn opportunities.

In conclusion, we can still expect how Chiesa can fit into the team’s tactical style. Throughout the experience, Liverpool often received the best outcome with a relatively low output when the trade window opened, the belief convinces us that Chiesa could also outperform his contract value.

Remember, this move came with a long-term consideration, Chiesa could even replace Mo Salah who may leave next year.