Chiesa alternative emerges as Napoli contact Liverpool’s rivals over ‘extraordinary talent’ | OneFootball

Federico Chiesa has been linked with a move to Napoli this summer, although the Serie A champions might yet overlook the Liverpool forward in favour of an alternative target from a direct Premier League rival.

As we exclusively reported for Empire of the Kop on Monday, the 27-year-old is being eyed by as many as six clubs from his homeland (including Antonio Conte’s side), along with Atletico Madrid.

The Reds attacker is keen to play regularly in the 2025/26 season as he strives to break back into the Italy squad ahead of next year’s World Cup, and he was the standout omission from LFC’s tour to the Far East, with the decision taken for him to remain on Merseyside for further assessment on a minor fitness issue.

Napoli exploring alternative target to Chiesa

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli remains a ‘tempting’ option for Chiesa, with the hierarchy at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona believing that he could ‘make a significant contribution’ to the team.

However, the Serie A champions are also lining up an alternative target in Jack Grealish, who’s dubbed an ‘extraordinary talent’ in the report but has apparently been scorned by his omission from Manchester City’s squad for the Club World Cup.

Contact has been made with Napoli, who might yet hope to use his former teammate Kevin De Bruyne as a potential carrot to dangle in front of the England international, even if the 29-year-old’s wages are described as ‘prohibitive’ for Gli Azzurri.

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Hopefully Napoli opt to sign Grealish rather than Chiesa

If Conte’s side were to eschew a move for Chiesa in favour of Grealish, it’d delight Liverpool fans on the double.

Not only would it improve our chances of keeping the Italy international (unless another Serie A club were to launch a substantial charm offensive), it could also see a direct rival’s squad being weakened, even if the former Aston Villa man has been rather unproductive over the past two seasons (just six goals and eight assists).

Both players might feel that their prospects of regular game-time at their current clubs are bleak, so it could come down to which one emerges as Napoli’s preference, and who ultimately might be more obtainable for the Italian champions.

Kopites will be hoping that Conte opts to move for Grealish rather than Chiesa, although speculation is likely to continue regarding the latter, irrespective of what the Neapolitan club decide.

It’s far from ideal that Liverpool’s number 14 hasn’t travelled with the squad to the Far East this week, but hopefully the call to leave him on Merseyside will prove to be the correct one over time, and that he can make more of an impact in the coming season after a heavily disrupted 2024/25.