Liverpool manager Arne Slot has insisted Federico Chiesa has banished the demons of last season and is now ready to play a major role in his squad.
The Reds paid up to £12.5 million ($16.9 million) to sign Chiesa from Juventus last summer, but a series of injuries and the fact he plays in the same position as PFA Player of the Year Mohamed Salah meant the Italian managed just 14 appearances across all competitions in his first season.
Chiesa was heavily linked with a return to Serie A this summer, but popped up off the bench with a crucial goal in Liverpool’s 4–2 win over Bournemouth to open the new season, after which he confirmed his desire to stay at Anfield.
Slot is keen to continue working with Chiesa, who he admitted looks almost unrecognisable from the player who struggled so much last season.
“I see a totally different Federico now than from large parts of last season,” Slot told the media.
“It is completely normal because he missed out on the whole pre-season and then came into a Premier League rhythm in terms of the amount of games and in terms of intensity.
“If he is more available then he has more chances to impact our results or his playing time. But then it is about him staying as fit as he is at the moment. He is in a much better place now and as we can all see when we needed a goal and I looked at the bench I only had him and Rio [Ngumoha], a 16-year-old, as attacking options.
“For me, although Rio did really well in pre-season it was quite a normal choice to bring him in and he delivered.”
Another Italian, teenage defender Giovanni Leoni, followed Chiesa to Liverpool this summer in a deal worth £30 million, and Slot urged fans to be just as excited by the centre back.
“He has trained with us three times now I think,” Slot explained. “If you look at his transfer fee, you can expect that he is already quite grown up for his age—and that’s exactly what I saw.
“He comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new teammates as if he is here for longer. Impressive; if you look at how tall he is, fast, comfortable on the ball. There’s a reason why we paid the transfer fee we did, because we see him as a bright prospect.
“It also tells you something about the team. If you come to this club, if you come into this team, you feel at ease from the start because it’s a very good and nice group to start your Liverpool career in.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Totally Different’—Arne Slot Explains Why Liverpool Fans Should Be Excited About Federico Chiesa.