Chiesa Absence Raises Questions as Liverpool Embark on Far East Tour
Squad selection signals shift in priorities
Liverpool’s pre-season squad announcement might have included 29 names, but it was one missing that raised eyebrows. Federico Chiesa, scorer in the recent 5-0 friendly win over Stoke, has been left behind on Merseyside with what the club have described as a “minor fitness issue”. The timing, tone and context offer more intrigue than clarity.
This is a player whose Liverpool career has, so far, felt more theoretical than tangible. Signed last summer from Juventus for a fee that could rise to £12.5 million, Chiesa has started just once in the Premier League. “I wouldn’t mind staying,” he said recently, a phrase that exudes quiet resignation more than firm commitment. He featured in just six league games last season.
Omission stirs transfer speculation
The Athletic previously reported interest in Chiesa from clubs back in Serie A, and this latest omission will do little to quash those links. His absence is framed as precautionary, yet he played and scored just days earlier. If anything, it feels like the beginning of a diplomatic disentanglement.
There is always a stage in a player’s career at a club when both parties begin to imagine life without each other. This might be Chiesa’s.
Slot’s selections reflect forward momentum
Arne Slot’s 29-man travelling party includes the usual core, Van Dijk, Salah, Alisson, and a crop of youth players looking to impress. There is no space for sentiment. Pre-season, especially with a new manager, is about the future. Chiesa, for now, appears to belong to the past, or at best the periphery.
The inclusion of Federico Pecsi, Rio Ngumoha, and others from the academy underlines the push for regeneration. If Chiesa is to reassert himself, it will not be in the humidity of Hong Kong or Tokyo, but on the training pitches of Kirkby.
Our View – Anfield Index Analysis
Federico Chiesa was meant to be more than a budget signing from Serie A. He was meant to bring flair, depth and a cutting edge to the flanks. Now, a year later, he’s not even on the plane.
Yes, injuries hampered him. But if a player scores in a friendly and is deemed fit enough to do that, it’s difficult to believe that a “minor fitness issue” is enough to justify his exclusion from a major pre-season tour. The reality is probably more political than physical.
Supporters had every right to be excited when he arrived. A proven name, a European pedigree, and a price that looked shrewd. But his Liverpool career feels suspended in limbo. Slot, rightly or wrongly, is prioritising those he sees as part of his plan. At the moment, Chiesa does not look like one of them.
This is disappointing not just for what it says about Chiesa’s status, but also for what it says about Liverpool’s squad planning. If he is surplus, why not move quickly? If not, why not integrate him? He is too good to sit idle and too experienced to be sidelined by silence.
