Arne Slot could face a fresh hit to his attacking numbers
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Liverpool are reportedly in talks to allow one of their wingers to leave the club this January.
After the highs of last season, ending in Premier League triumph in Arne Slot’s first term at the club, things got off to a strange start on Merseyside.
They committed £446m in the summer window, landing some of the biggest transfers ever seen in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool could allow winger to leave on loan in JanuaryThe atmosphere reached boiling point in December, when Mohamed Salah met journalists after a match against Leeds United and said he had been thrown under the bus by Slot after not being selected in consecutive games.
That, coupled with the Egyptian’s commitments at the Africa Cup of Nations and Isak’s long-term injury, have given the Dutch head coach something of a headache in attack.
Slot has had a relatively rocky start to the first half of the season (Image credit: Getty Images)Such stress won’t be eased by Tuttosport’s report that Juventus are considering a loan move for winger Federico Chiesa.
The 28-year-old moved in the opposite direction under 18 months ago, becoming Slot’s second Liverpool signing in a deal worth £12.5m.
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He has struggled for game time since then, starting just one Premier League game so far this season, with a combination of Salah, Isak, Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike often preferred ahead of him.
The Italian outlet states that talks are underway to determine whether any temporary switch would include an option or an obligation to buy, with Juve wanting it to be conditional on appearances.
Liverpool are said to be reluctant to let the Italian go easily, recognising their currently short numbers in attack, but there is said to be a “price tag” at which they’d deal.
Chiesa has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at Liverpool (Image credit: Getty Images)In FourFourTwo’s opinion, this would make sense for all parties if the Reds can recoup a significant portion of their initial investment.
At £12.5m, it was a gamble worth taking for the Reds, but it is, nevertheless, one that has paid few dividends.
When they have the likes of Rio Ngumoha rising through the ranks, it’d be sensible for Liverpool to get a fee for Chiesa while they still can, rather than having him festering on the bench just in case of an emergency.
Chiesa is valued at €18m, according to Transfermarkt.
Isaac Stacey Stronge is a freelance football writer working for FourFourTwo, Manchester United and Football League World. He has been a season ticket holder at Stockport County throughout the Hatters’ meteoric rise from the National League North to League One and is a die-hard Paddy Madden fan.
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