One player who’s been linked with a summer exit from Liverpool has warned that he’ll ‘have to look elsewhere’ if he continues to struggle for game-time.
Two seasons into his Anfield career, Federico Chiesa has played just under 1,200 minutes in total for the Reds, with Arne Slot handing the 28-year-old a paltry two Premier League starts during his reign as head coach (Transfermarkt).
Reports from his native Italy in recent days have claimed that Como are eyeing a move for the forward, who also claimed that he’d be very much open to returning to his former club Juventus if the opportunity were to arise.
On Saturday, Gazzetta dello Sport published an interview with the Liverpool attacker in which he refused to rule out a return to Serie A and stated his intentions to speak with his new club boss Andoni Iraola about his game-time at Anfield.
Chiesa said: “I want to get back to being a key player, but to do that I need to play more than a thousand minutes a season for my club. Playing so little, I won’t get anywhere.”
He added: “I repeat: I want to play. If I don’t find consistency in the Premier League, I’ll have to look elsewhere. I barely played in my first year at Liverpool, and in the last one, very little. I’ll go on a training camp in the U.S., then I’ll talk to the club and the new manager Iraola, and we’ll see.”
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Will the change of head coach at Anfield provide a new lease of life for the Italy international, or push him further towards the exit door?
It’s hard not to feel sorry for Chiesa given how little he’s played at Liverpool, especially in the 2025/26 season when so many of our attackers were underperforming and the 28-year-old continued to be confined to the role of substitute.
The forward should get plenty of minutes in pre-season, given that he has the entire summer off while many of his teammates will be involved at the World Cup, and the early weeks under Iraola will likely give us a strong clue as to how prominently the Reds’ number 14 features in his plans.
If the Italian is given a greater opportunity to prove himself under the new boss, the onus is then on him to demonstrate that he’s worthy of starting more regularly and can establish himself in the first XI at Anfield, rather than continuing to be a bit-part player.
Chiesa is a talented footballer and a hugely popular figure among the fan base, so hopefully he can still revive his Liverpool career and conjure some unforgettable moments in a red shirt.
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