Federico Chiesa’s time at Liverpool has been a bit of a disaster so far.
There’s been a lack of game time, with the Italian having played 78 minutes in all competitions this season. He’s played only once in the Premier League and that appearance came back in September.
To make matters worse, he’s missed the last seven league games due to injury and there is now some concern about his future with the Italian national side.
Today, Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti spoke to reporters about the players he is monitoring for Italy’s wide options.
He said, as relayed by TuttoSport: “They [players] must know how to stay on the pitch because we have lost sight of important players like [Riccardo] Orsolini, [Matteo] Politano and Chiesa.”
Speaking further about the Liverpool man, Spalletti said: “The latter is always monitored if he plays, he has shown us his qualities. The solution we have looked for for this national team are those players who can play in those roles. We have two very strong forwards who are constantly growing , Retegui and Kean.”
Urging for more game time for the ex-Juventus man, the Italy boss stated: “The latter [Chiesa] has shown that he is an element you can count on, he has made progress as a man and as a professional, I found him to have matured a lot.
“The context where you were born always makes the difference. If you are lucky enough to immediately join a big club like Juve, you don’t realise the privileges you have, the things you have to focus on to be able to commit yourself.
“You think they are given to you automatically without putting your hands in and looking for them.”
This is clearly an attempt from Spalletti to spur Chiesa on and to make sure that the player pushes himself further at Anfield, or looks away from Liverpool for minutes elsewhere.
The 27-year-old has shown versatility in the final third during his time at Juventus and Fiorentina, playing across the front line and that can make him a handy player at Liverpool, when he returns to fitness.
