Arne Slot Reveals the Reasons Behind Federico Chiesa’s Lack of Liverpool Game Time | OneFootball

Federico Chiesa’s Liverpool Future in Doubt as Arne Slot Opens Up on Selection Dilemma

Liverpool’s 2024/25 campaign has already been written into the history books. Under new manager Arne Slot, the Reds clinched the Premier League title with weeks to spare, showcasing a revitalised brand of football that kept fans dreaming from August through to April.

Yet, even as champagne corks popped and the squad jetted off to Dubai to celebrate, one subplot has continued to bubble beneath the surface — the puzzling omission of Federico Chiesa.

Signed to considerable fanfare and widely regarded as one of Europe’s most dangerous wide attackers, Chiesa’s role this season has been anything but central. In fact, he has yet to start a single Premier League match for Liverpool. For a player of his pedigree, the lack of minutes has been a source of frustration for supporters and pundits alike.

Arne Slot finally addresses Chiesa’s role

Back in front of the media ahead of Liverpool’s penultimate game of the season, Arne Slot was inevitably pressed on the Chiesa question. Calm and composed, as ever, the Dutch tactician offered insight into his thinking — though not necessarily reassurance for the Italy international or his admirers.

“In terms of the quality he has he would deserve more playing time at this football club because he has the quality to play for us,” Slot acknowledged. “But unfortunately for him he’s in competition with Mo Salah on the right and Cody Gakpo and Lucho Diaz on the left. I don’t think I’m wrong in saying all three of them have had a great, great, great season.”

Photo: IMAGO

That admission goes a long way toward explaining the conundrum. Slot has leaned heavily on Salah, Díaz and Gakpo throughout the campaign, and with Liverpool firing on all cylinders, there was little incentive to tamper with a winning formula.

Fitness setbacks and fierce competition

Slot also cited fitness issues as a major factor in Chiesa’s limited role: “He was also starting 1-0, or even 2-0 or 3-0 down because he was by a long way not as fit as the other players. That doesn’t help in the beginning and by the time he was fit, there was not a lot of reason for me to change and then being in the squad even becomes difficult because Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are there.”

The manager’s remarks paint a picture of a player caught between untimely setbacks and an intensely competitive frontline. Even at full fitness, Chiesa found himself on the outside looking in, with Liverpool’s attacking depth proving both a blessing and a curse for the No. 14.

What comes next for Chiesa at Anfield?

While Slot was clear in praising Chiesa’s quality, he notably stopped short of offering any guarantees about the player’s future. There was no suggestion that next season will bring increased opportunities, nor any indication that the former Juventus star figures prominently in Slot’s long-term plans.

“Is he good enough to play for us? Yes he is. But I’ve always felt that Lucho Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah deserved the confidence I had in them and I hardly ever changed that set-up,” Slot said, underlining the consistency in his selection policy.

With just two league matches remaining, the prospect of Chiesa featuring from the start appears slim. And while supporters may hope for at least a farewell cameo, the reality is that Liverpool may well be preparing to part ways with the 27-year-old come summer.

Sources close to the club suggest Chiesa is “highly likely” to leave Liverpool in the upcoming transfer window — a move that would bring to an end a curious chapter that, for all its promise, never truly got going.

Whether it’s a tactical mismatch, bad timing or simply poor luck, Chiesa’s Anfield adventure looks set to close before it ever fully opened. And for Liverpool, it raises the question: was this a misstep in recruitment, or just a case of wrong place, wrong time?