A former coach of Federico Chiesa has whetted Liverpool fans’ already voracious appetite to see the Reds’ newest first-team signing in action at Anfield.
The 26-year-old completed a move from Juventus towards the end of the summer transfer window, and while he’s yet to play for his new club, the manager who handed him his senior debut eight years ago has backed the Italy international to be a smash hit on Merseyside.
Paulo Sousa, who gave our number 14 his bow at Fiorentina in 2016, told Gazzetta dello Sport: “I love Federico. I believed in him when he wasn’t even playing in the Primavera. I played him immediately against Juventus on the first day of the 2016/17 season.
“The injury a few years ago changed his career, but at Liverpool, he will make a real difference. He is an incredible talent.”
If Chiesa comes anywhere close to living up to the billing of his former manager, he’ll make a mockery of the initial £10m that Liverpool paid for him.
He arrives at Anfield with a brilliant pedigree from his time in Serie A, where he’s netted 47 goals in 235 appearances, and a return of six goals from 13 Champions League outings suggests that he can also make a telling impact on the biggest stage in European football.
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The Italian’s past injury troubles are hard to ignore and might serve to temper expectations of him in some quarters, but hopefully he can avoid the niggling problems that he’s had from time to time since recovering from the cruciate ligament tear which sidelined him for nine months in 2022.
Should Chiesa go on to become an unqualified success at Liverpool, we’ll owe a debt of gratitude to Sousa, who took a punt on a precocious 18-year-old nearly a decade ago and got the ball rolling on a career which has seen the Italy star become a European champion for his country.
It’s been a while since a Reds player’s debut was as eagerly anticipated as this one is going to be!
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