Arne Slot has hinted at the probability of Federico Chiesa making his Liverpool debut in Sunday’s grudge match against Manchester United.
The 26-year-old completed his transfer from Juventus on Thursday for an initial £10m and is set to train with his new teammates today, although the fixture at Old Trafford might come just a bit too soon for him to make his Reds bow.
In his press conference on Friday morning, the LFC head coach said of the Italy forward (via Liverpool FC on YouTube): “He’s going to train with us today but there’s a bigger chance that he’s not in the squad for Sunday than he is.
“If injuries come up in the next two days we might need him but I don’t expect him to be in, but I cannot guarantee that.”
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Considering that Chiesa hasn’t played in a match of any description since Italy’s defeat to Switzerland in Euro 2024 two months ago, throwing him straight in for a Liverpool debut at Old Trafford would be a considerable risk.
Slot hasn’t definitively shut the door on the 26-year-old featuring against United on Sunday, and the coaching staff will no doubt pay close attention to how our newest signing performs in training today. If he looks sharp, there’s a chance that he may at least make the bench at the weekend.
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The good news for the Reds is that we already have an enviable array of attacking talent even if the Italian isn’t quite ready to feature against Erik ten Hag’s side, and the head coach confirmed this morning that Curtis Jones is the only injury doubt for this match.
Maybe the 45-year-old is simply being coy about Chiesa’s prospects of playing this weekend, although we’ve seen in the early weeks of his reign that he’s quite candid in his dealings with the media, so this probably isn’t a bout of mind games.
It appears that we’ll have to wait until after the international break to witness a debut for our new signing, but hopefully an appearance on Sunday isn’t completely out of the question just yet!
You can view Slot’s comments on Chiesa below (from 14:30), via Liverpool FC on YouTube: