As the January transfer window continues to heat up with each passing day, we're oftentimes reminded that this mid-season transfer mayhem is often an opportunity for some players to salvage the final 4-6 months of their season and beyond.
There might not be a more relevant player to that idea than Liverpool's Federico Chiesa. The Italian is now in his second full season at Anfield, and is nowhere closer to the Starting XI then he was 12 months ago.
This is despite the fact that Mohamed Salah is away at AFCON, Alexander Isak is out with a long-term injury and Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike have missed time through fitness issues.
Yet, the former European Championship star for Italy finds himself rooted to the bench hunting for scraps of minutes in matches.
With that backdrop, it is no shock that Serie A giants Juventus and Napoli are being tabbed with real and substantial interest in our No. 14. I'm here to discuss why Liverpool should, and should not, consider sanctioning a move.
The Case to Keep
Even though he has been played sparingly at best this season, Chiesa has shown more than enough flashes of the talent we know is in him to warrant more minutes in red, not a plane out of the country.
He scored the winning goal off the bench on Premier League Matchday 1 and is always one of our most progressive players whenever he is on the pitch. That is important, as the 2025/26 version of Liverpool seems to lack that drive and energy going forward as a whole.
Moving on from one of the few players that offers you that energy and positivity would seem like a backwards move at best.
While his last few outings have not been the best, I don't think that means he's a lost cause. He's loved by most pockets of fans, his teammates and coaches. It appears to be an Arne Slot problem.
For whatever reason it may be, the Dutch coach just can't bring himself to put more responsibility on the shoulders of the former Juve winger.
His most consistent stretch of play this season came in the short run in the League Cup, which Liverpool were frustratingly knocked out from early on.
He had two assists across those matches and was one of a few bright spots in the capitulation to Crystal Palace that ended their cup run extremely short.
He is still very creative and technically gifted on the ball, composed in front of goal and knows how to position himself in dangerous areas. Those are valuable assets to a club that has struggled for attacking consistency.
The Case to Ship Him Out
While the Reds are looking for a permanent transfer, Juventus are said to be seeing a loan or perhaps a loan with an option-to-buy instead.
However, having seen the Harvey Elliott debacle play out at Aston Villa, Richard Hughes and Co. are in no rush to sanction a move like that once again.
Were the clubs to come to some type of agreement for Chiesa, his departure would not be all that shocking. As I've said, he has never been in favor since arriving late last summer.
While he has shown flashes of the immense gifts he has, too often he has not taken the opportunity with both hands. Hard work and effort can only get you so far at Anfield. Just ask Darwin Nunez how that usually ends up.
Another factor working against Fede is the very modest transfer fee that Liverpool paid to sign him last summer. Whereas Florian Wirtz is given opportunities to work his way back into the fold, Chiesa is given no such luxury.
That's not a knock on Wirtz, it's just where the sport is right now. Chiesa being flipped now or in the summer is much more tolerable than the German moving on six months to a year after arriving for over £100 million.
At full strength, with Salah and Isak fully in the fold, Chiesa is 4th or 5th choice in attack at this time. That is not to mention Rio Ngumoha coming right up the pipeline looking for chances of his own.
He's still a talented player, but recouping at least some of the money spent on him and allowing younger names to flourish would not be a terrible idea.