Federico Chiesa confirms Liverpool intention as January transfer deadline nears | OneFootball

Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa has pledged his future to the club, having recently been linked with a move away following a challenging start to life at Anfield.

Chiesa was billed as one of the bargains of the summer when the Euro 2020 arrived from Juventus in a cut-price deal worth not much more than £10m.

But with injury and fitness trouble, as well as stiff competition for places, game time has been almost impossible to come by. Prior to this week, Chiesa had only played 190 minutes in a Liverpool shirt, with January links back to Serie A – notably Napoli – emerging.

Wednesday night's Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven was only Chiesa's second start for Liverpool, and his first since September. And while the game didn't end the way the team would have wanted, it gave enough incentive to Chiesa to openly declare his desire to to stick around.

Chiesa played 90 minutes against PSV Eindhoven / BSR Agency/GettyImages

"I have to thank the coach, the staff, for giving me the possibility to play 90 minutes," he told club media. "For me it was great, I needed it. Since I joined Liverpool I wanted to prove myself, I couldn't for many reasons. 90 minutes after a while was great so I have to thank the coach.

"There is room for improvement, to get better and better and be at the best of my game. But we have a great team and it's hard to play, that's normal. I want to be here, I want to play for Liverpool, I want to challenge myself and I will be ready for my next opportunity."

Chiesa won the penalty that put a heavily rotated Liverpool ahead in Eindhoven. He operated from the right flank, which is usually Mohamed Salah's domain, but predominantly played either on the left or through the middle behind a central striker for Juventus.