Arne Slot reveals Liverpool transfer stance on Federico Chiesa
Chiesa hasn't featured since making his first start in the 5-1 home win over West Ham United
Arne Slot has dismissed rumours suggesting that Liverpool are considering allowing Federico Chiesa to return to Italy on loan in January.
However, he acknowledged that it has been challenging to bring the summer signing up to speed in the Premier League.
Chiesa has played only 78 minutes across three appearances since joining from Juventus in a potential £12.5million deal shortly before the transfer deadline at the end of August.
This lack of playing time has led to reports this week indicating that the player is unsettled at Anfield, with several Serie A clubs reportedly interested in securing him on a temporary deal in the New Year.
Since making his first start in the 5-1 home victory over West Ham United in the League Cup a month ago, Federico Chiesa has not featured in a match and is unlikely to be included in the squad for the fourth-round clash at Brighton on Wednesday evening.
Slot believes that Chiesa’s pre-season training experience, where he was forced to train away from the first team by new Juventus boss Thiago Motta, has contributed to the difficulties the 27-year-old faces in acclimatizing to English football.
Asked about a possible January loan for Chiesa, Slot said: “That hasn’t gone through my mind at all.
“First and foremost is that he gets fit again and then we can see where he is.
“He missed pre-season (with us) and in pre-season (with Juventus) he was on low intensity sessions as he had to train with three or four players separate from the group.
“Going from then to a high-intensity league, to a high-intensity playing style is difficult in general for every player, but especially if you had a pre-season like this.
“We knew this before and we knew we had to be really careful to adjust where we could to his individual needs.
“But it hasn’t been perfect yet so we are trying to find the right way of building him up without overloading him.
“That has been difficult up until now.
“I have full confidence that will happen. Let’s let him first be fit.”
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