Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has seen a “totally different” Federico Chiesa from 12 months ago and believes that was reflected in his game-changing contribution off the bench as they opened their Premier League defence with a victory.
The Italy international endured a difficult first season at Anfield as fitness issues restricted him to just 14 appearances, with his only league start coming at Brighton after the title was won.
But he has already made a significant impact after being introduced with just eight minutes remaining against Bournemouth with Liverpool chasing a winning goal having been pegged back from 2-0.
The 27-year-old, a replacement for club-record signing Florian Wirtz, volleyed home in the 88th minute to further cement his status as a cult hero.
With Liverpool’s forward options reduced from six last season to four currently, Chiesa could yet have more of a part to play, just a month after it appeared he was destined for an exit.
“I see a totally different Federico now than from large parts of last season,” Slot said.
“It is completely normal because he missed out on the whole pre-season and then came into a Premier League rhythm in terms of the amount of games and in terms of intensity.
“If he is more available then he has more chances to impact our results or his playing time. But then it is about him staying as fit as he is at the moment.
“He is in a much better place now and as we can all see when we needed a goal and I looked at the bench I only had him and Rio [Ngumoha], a 16-year-old, as attacking options.
“For me, although Rio did really well in pre-season it was quite a normal choice to bring him in and he delivered.”
Chiesa has been joined at Anfield by compatriot Giovanni Leoni, an 18-year-old defender who is just starting his career.
The highly-rated centre-back cost £26 million ($35m) and after a week’s adaptation could be included in the squad for Newcastle on Monday.
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“He has trained with us three times now I think,” Slot said of the Italy under-19 international.
“If you look at his transfer fee, you can expect that he is already quite grown up for his age — and that’s exactly what I saw.
“He comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new team-mates as if he is here for longer. Impressive; if you look at how tall he is, fast, comfortable on the ball.
“There’s a reason why we paid the transfer fee we did, because we see him as a bright prospect.
“It also tells you something about the team. If you come to this club, if you come into this team, you feel at ease from the start because it’s a very good and nice group to start your Liverpool career in.”
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