The cost of Federico Chiesa’s transfer to Liverpool has been a talking point among numerous fans and pundits after the move was confirmed yesterday.
As per The Athletic, the Reds have paid a measly £10m to secure the 26-year-old’s signature from Juventus, with a further £2.5m in add-ons dependent on whether his new club win the Premier League and Champions League.
Speaking on ESPN FC, Craig Burley was astonished over the meagre fee for a forward who he believes should’ve cost about five times more.
The ex-Chelsea midfielder said: “This is a player who really should be in the £50m+ category, but because of the contract, because of the injuries and so forth, this is a deal that I think, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’
“Clearly you’re nowhere near overpaying for the player, as long as he’s fit and available, which he hasn’t been. That’s been a problem, but maybe he needs a fresh start. Maybe he needs to get away – different country, different team, new teammates – and breathe some life into this second part of his career.”
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As Burley referenced, Chiesa’s previous injury troubles, along with the fact that he’d been in the final year of his contract at Juventus, were likely contributors to his transfer fee being so low.
The circumstances have worked out gloriously for Liverpool, who’ve secured a proven Serie A goalscorer still in the prime period of his career for a sum not much higher than the influx of the sell-on fee from Dominic Solanke’s recent move to Tottenham.
So long as the Italian forward can avoid any major injury concerns and provide a steady supply of goals, that £12.5m deal will undoubtedly be viewed as an extraordinary bargain in years to come.
You can view Burley’s comments on Chiesa below (from 2:57), via ESPN UK on YouTube: