Federico Chiesa says he “will have shivers” when he first walks out at Anfield after joining Liverpool for an initial £10m, plus a potential £2.5m in add-ons, from Juventus. When the Italy international flew over the ground on the way for his medical, he asked his wife to play You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Chiesa, whose father, Enrico, scored for Italy at Anfield during Euro 96, has signed a four-year deal and could feature at Manchester United on Sunday. The 26-year-old was in the last year of his contract at Juventus and was not part of head coach Thiago Motta’s plans, leaving the forward to search for a new club.
“I just want to say something that stuck to my mind when I was about to land [in] the aeroplane,” Chiesa said. “I saw Anfield and as soon as I saw Anfield I said to my wife: ‘Put the song on [You’ll Never Walk Alone] because I want to imagine myself playing there and hearing the chant of the fans.’ It was just a fun bit. I will have shivers [when I play there] and it will be so emotional for me and for my family.”
The former Fiorentina player, who will wear the No 14 shirt, becomes the first outfield player to sign under Arne Slot after the goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joined and immediately returned to Valencia on loan. Chiesa was part of the Italy squad at Euro 2024 and has 51 caps and seven goals for his country. He won the European Championship in 2021, when he was named in the team of the tournament.
“I’m so happy to be a Liverpool player,” Chiesa said. “When [the sporting director] Richard Hughes called me and he said: ‘Do you want to join Liverpool?’ – and the coach called me – I said yes immediately because I know the history of this club, I know what it represents to the fans … I felt the people I talked to put a lot of faith and trust in me and that is what I wanted.”
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Chiesa sustained a serious knee injury in 2022 and there have been some concerns over whether he can return to his best but he played 37 times for Juventus last season. He spent four years there, originally on loan before the club made the deal permanent for £42m, and won the Coppa Italia twice.
Source: theguardian.com
