A Career Derailed: Federico Chiesa to Liverpool

Aug 30, 2024

Over four years ago, Federico Chiesa left English shores at the peak of his career. Starring for a dominant Juventus side, the Italian is poised to be another promising winger in a new generation of them.

Within less than a year, an ACL injury robbed him of crucial development time and forever derailed his career until Liverpool came calling.

Few Italian prospects played like Chiesa when the former Fiorentina man broke out with Juve. The winger tantalized fans with his silky smooth dribbling and bursts of pace that outflanked all defenders.

Just as they are in every sport, injuries produce the biggest what-ifs. Chiesa’s ACL tear in 2022 haunts Juventus and Italian fans alike. At the peak of his power, a single devastating injury derailed what was promising to be a great season.

After that injury, Chiesa struggled to put together a fully healthy season. Swinging between dips in form and stretches on the injury table, he never showed glimpses of the player that he once was. By the end of last season, it became evidently clear that the winger needed to continue elsewhere.

For Liverpool, this represents a great low-stakes gamble.

Paying only over 10 million pounds for the Italian, they can take their chances on him without overcommitting to him.

Even at Fiorentina, Chiesa showed enough that he wouldn’t be the typical Italian winger who played an older style. As strange as it is to say, shades of Mbappe’s game existed in Chiesa’s.

In those first few seasons at Juve, Chiesa played on the left with Ronaldo in the striker position. This gave the Italian the space needed to take on defenders with his skill and pace while creating a central figure. Utilizing the attention drawn to either Ronaldo or Vlahović later, he operated in the space to cut in and pressure the defense some more.

What really differentiated Chiesa from other Italian wingers outside Insigne was his threat as both a playmaker and attacker. By possessing that dual-threat ability, Chiesa resembled Mbappe more than Berardi. Even as the injuries piled on, he still possessed elite passing numbers, although his attacking prowess did decline.

The injury in early 2022 disrupted the star trajectory that Chiesa seemed destined to reach. Being sidelined for that long pushed him out of both Italy and Juve’s plans.

Despite still being Italy’s most talented attacker, Chiesa found himself an afterthought for the most recent Euros. Only three years before, the winger broke out and made a name for himself at the tournament. Now, the Italian federation seemed ready to give up on him and relegated him to a minor role in another disappointing tournament.

Up until last season, Juve still wanted Chiesa to play an important role in the team’s future, especially after the signing of Vlahović. However, under Allegri last season, the wheels fell off completely, and the player and manager were no longer compatible with Allegri. Most expected Chiesa to stay at Juve and revive his career under Motta.

By the end of this summer, it became clear that the player needed a fresh start elsewhere.

In a truly baffling window, no clubs came calling for a player who so recently was envied the world over.

Just like Chiesa, Liverpool entered the summer wanting the start of a new era. With Klopp gone and Slot at the helm, this window presented an interesting opportunity for the club.

Until they signed Chiesa, Liverpool remained inactive in the window, outside a failed attempt for Mikel Merino. Their inactivity struck me most as awkward, given how the stars of Liverpool are aging. Slot currently oversees the skeleton left by Klopp but has yet to imprint his own mark.

Perhaps it’s too much to ask in this window for Slot to shape this Liverpool side as his own. To be fair, outside of Pep, most managers do have to wait a year or so before being truly handed the reins. However, this Liverpool side still needed reinforcements.

While the midfield and attack seemed deep enough, the defense needed some reinforcements. However, the club opted to take a gamble.

Chiesa arrives in Liverpool as a low-risk, high-reward prospect for the team. For the price Liverpool paid, they either get a fine role player, as Chiesa currently is, or they get the star he promised to be. Either way, Liverpool paid such a small fee that they don’t have to feel pressure regarding developing the Italian.

At worst, Chiesa is Jota’s backup and can be the first player off the bench for Slot. However, given that he played on the right under Allegri, he may be Salah’s replacement. If he stays healthy, Chiesa may play a pivotal role in whatever Liverpool’s goals are.

Liverpool making this transfer remains one of the more interesting ones of the window.

While the fee isn’t striking, it’s the possibility of what might be that grabs the attention of fans.

Just over three years ago, Chiesa seemed on the cusp of stardom. With a starring role in a Euros win and a dominant Juve side, the Italian had the world at his feet.