According to reports from Italy, Liverpool could submit an offer for a Serie A attacker next week after Jurgen Klopp gave his approval for the move.
Gazzetta dello Sport claimed on Friday (via Sport Witness) that the Reds lead the race to sign Federico Chiesa and are ‘willing to get serious’ about trying to bring him to Anfield.
The Merseysiders would be prepared to grant him the wages he’s seeking which are beyond Juventus’ reach, with negotiations stalling with his current club, and it’s suggested that LFC could ‘come forward’ with a bid in the region of €40m-€45m (£34.2m-£38.5m) as early as next week.
That’s less than the €60m (£51.3m) the Bianconeri are hoping to reap for him, but not so low that the gap would be ‘unbridgeable’, and the report added that Klopp is the driving force behind the potential move for the 24-year-old.
Liverpool fans may have been intrigued by Chiesa’s comments after his involvement in Italy’s UEFA Nations League finals campaign last week, when he said (via Calciomercato): “Reopening with me? We’ll see, I’m at Juventus and I’m thinking about Juventus.”
The ‘we’ll see’ utterance could perhaps be interpreted as a sign that he’s not completely discounting the possibility of an exit from Turin, and Gazzetta’s report had mentioned that selling the forward could potentially pave the way for the Bianconeri to sign Nicolo Zaniolo.
It seems as if there’s plenty of scope for the move to be made if the Reds act quickly enough, and it won’t have been lost on Klopp how the Italian ran Virgil van Dijk ragged in the lead-up to his goal against Netherlands last weekend.
One reason why we mightn’t yet be hopping up and down with excitement over a possible raid for Chiesa is that other areas of the squad are likelier to demand immediate attention, with midfielders remaining the priority and defenders also being sought.
Liverpool’s attacking arsenal is the envy of most Premier League clubs, and the 24-year-old typically plays on the left flank, where the Reds already have an abundance of high-quality options (Transfermarkt).
He’s therefore a player who’d be nice to have but not urgently needed, despite the reports of a bid appearing imminent and the manager giving his approval to the move.