Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10m plus £2.5m in add-ons, with the forward having travelled to Merseyside for a medical.
The 26-year-old Italy international operates mainly as a winger or a second striker and if the deal is completed as expected he will be Arne Slot’s second signing as Liverpool head coach, following Tuesday’s €30m capture of Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia. The Georgia goalkeeper will formally move to Anfield, subject to a work permit and international clearance being granted, from the Spanish club before the 2025-26 season.
“I’m ready to start this new adventure, I wanted to say goodbye to the Juventus fans,” Chiesa told waiting journalists as he prepared to board a flight from Turin to Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon. “Thank you for your affection and for these years, I will carry you in my heart and thanks to Juventus.
“Is it sad to leave Juve like this? It’s sad but I’m really happy for this new adventure. I’m really happy and my family and I can’t wait.”
Chiesa’s impending arrival at Liverpool is something of a surprise given the impressive attacking options already at Slot’s disposal, namely Mohamed Salah, Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo. Also because Liverpool’s priority this window appeared to be signing a defensive midfielder, with a move for Spain Euro 2024 winner Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad falling through earlier this month.
In targeting Chiesa, who was a star of Italy’s triumphant Euro 2020 campaign and has scored 32 goals in 131 appearances for Juventus having joined the club from Fiorentina in 2020, initially on loan before making the move permanent two years later, it appears Liverpool are seeking to make the type of “opportunistic” signing their new sporting director, Richard Hughes, claimed was a possibility when speaking to journalists at Slot’s unveiling as head coach in early July. “We need to improve on the training pitch first and foremost, as Arne said. With the window open, we’ll always be opportunistic if we can,” said Hughes.
Chiesa’s father, Enrico, was a striker who played for Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio among others, as well as scoring seven goals in 17 appearances for Italy in the mid-to-late 1990s.
Meanwhile, Núñez has been handed a five-game international ban for his role in the disorder that took place at the end of Uruguay’s Copa América semi-final loss to Colombia last month.
Following the final whistle, the striker appeared to confront supporters seated in the Colombia section of the Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina after a brawl broke out near to wear the Uruguay team’s families were seated. Uruguay had just been beaten 1-0 by Colombia, who played the whole of the second half with 10 men, to miss out on a place in the final.
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Nunez, who was captured in video footage throwing a chair towards where Colombia supporters were sitting, has also received a £15,000 fine. Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur, who was involved in the fracas, has been given a four-game international ban and fined £12,000, while Mathías Olivera, Ronald Araújo and José María Giménez have each been suspended for three matches.
Uruguay’s football association defended their players in the aftermath of the incident, claiming they were simply trying to prevent their families from coming to harm.
Source: theguardian.com
