Arne Slot challenges Liverpool star to prove he has a future at the club after disappointing season
Arne Slot has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged Federico Chiesa to prove why he has a future at Liverpool this summer.
The Italian is the only player to sign for the Reds since Slot joined the club but he has been restricted to a meagre 41 minutes in the Premier League. The 27-year-old was not even on the substitutes' bench during the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last week.
Chiesa signed from Juventus for £10million last August but arrived unfit after being frozen out by Thiago Motta at the Turin club and not having a pre-season. He was playing catch-up in terms of fitness and then could not get in the team ahead of others.
But Slot insisted Chiesa definitely has a future at Liverpool and said: 'Does he have a future here? Yes, definitely he has, yes. Definitely. I think everyone playing for us over here has a future over here.
'Next season, if he comes back completely fit, which he has hardly been for the first half-season but then afterwards he became fitter and fitter. The next steps should have been playing time, which I couldn't give him.
'But I can give him playing time in pre-season, so he can build himself up and then go even further.
'That was also one of the things, if you do so well – and it was the same with (Ibrahima) Konate and Virgil (Van Dijk) – some people say maybe you should rest one or two once in a while.
'I know for sure the chance of winning when I play them both is particularly high. So why would I take the risk of rotating? But yeah, pre-season gives (Chiesa and other fringe players) the chance to show themselves again.'
Earlier, Slot had said on Chiesa: 'In terms of the quality he has, he deserves more playing time but unfortunately for him he's in competition with Mo Salah. On the left, it's competition with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz. Three players who have had a great season.
'He was not as fit as the others for a long time. That doesn't help in the beginning. Then the others did so well there's no reason to change. Is he good enough to play for us? Yes he is. But I've always felt Lucho, Cody and Mo deserved the confidence I had in them.'
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