Liverpool have agreed a £12.5m deal with Juventus to sign Italy forward Federico Chiesa; the Italy international had been attracting interest from both Barcelona and Saudi Arabia this summer
Thursday 29 August 2024 14:14, UK
Liverpool have agreed a £12.5m deal with Juventus to sign Italy forward Federico Chiesa.
The fee for the 26-year-old is £10m up front, plus £2.5m in add-ons, which are predominantly dependent on Liverpool winning the Premier League and the Champions League.
Liverpool are set to hand him a four-year contract at Anfield, after Chiesa flew into Merseyside on Wednesday afternoon to begin his medical, which resumes on Thursday.
"I'm really happy and ready for this new adventure," he told Sky in Italy of his impending move to Liverpool. "I want to thank the Juventus fans, thanks for all the affection over the years, I'll keep you in my heart, thanks Juventus.
"I'm really, really happy, we can't wait, me and my family."
Sky Sports News revealed on Monday that Liverpool had made enquiries about the player, who has been told he can leave Juve.
Barcelona had also been said to be interested in Chiesa, but are struggling to free up the margin in their wage bill to be able to register him, while interest from Saudi Arabia was believed to have posed the biggest competition to Liverpool in securing his signature.
Chiesa joined Juventus on a permanent deal in 2022 following an initial two-year loan from Fiorentina and has made 98 appearances for the Turin-based club, scoring 32 goals in 131 appearances in all competitions, including 21 times in 98 Serie A matches.
Chiesa also played a key role in Italy's Euro 2021 triumph, including in the final where Roberto Mancini's side beat England 2-1 at Wembley.
Chiesa would become new Liverpool head coach Arne Slot's second signing this summer after the Reds recently agreed a deal to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili for £25m plus £4m in add-ons, although the Georgia international will remain with the LaLiga club until next summer.
Italian football expert Mina Rzouki on Sky Sports News:
"He's an incredibly direct player, he can play on the left or right - he can even play as a second striker although he's not a huge fan of doing that.
"You need to just watch the Euro 2020 match against Spain, and even in the final. It's his acceleration, his dribbling, his top speed, he covers a lot of ground.
"As he's got a little bit older it's a little bit less-so, but it's partly the style Juventus play too. He's not someone who occupies space in exactly the way Italian coaches love, or what is needed in Serie A.
"He sometimes can't rid himself of his marker, and he hasn't yet fully connected with a coach who has been able to fully develop his talent.
"He's got bags of talent, so much technique - but it's about reading the game, knowing how to play with your team-mates, how to get rid of markers.
"That's not really been his forte; it can sometimes be head-down, dribbles, a one-man band. He's got a beautiful finish on him but it's about incorporating into the team dynamic more.
"Fans are up in arms about him leaving, because of the promise he's shown - he was meant to be the future of the team.
"It hasn't really worked out. It's very difficult to blame the player for all of this, when he arrived he took the club by storm.
"He was brilliant to watch under Andrea Pirlo, so agile, direct and mobile and was always coming to Juventus' rescue.
"But he suffered an ACL injury in January 2022, and we're yet to see him coming back to the player we're used to.
"Unfortunately, it seemed like under Max Allegri, who played a more cautious style of football, it wasn't great for the attackers at Juventus.
"When it came to Thiago Motta taking over, it seemed like this was his opportunity.
"But with one year on his deal, nothing agreed and rumours about him wanting so much money, Juventus want to be sustainable and Motta decided he's not the type of player who will fit into his plan.
"He needs a place where he can start - but I'm not sure he's going to get that at Liverpool either."
