Federico Chiesa

Key strength: Pace and dribbling

Wide creator

Five points off the summit and stumbling through an LWDLL sequence that has Anfield nervously eyeing the chasing pack, Liverpool's fifth-place standing under Arne Slot tells a story of transition teetering on frustration. Within this malaise, Federico Chiesa cuts an increasingly forlorn figure—the €18 million summer acquisition who was meant to add Italian flair to the Reds' flanks has instead become the ghost on the periphery. Three goals and three assists from 28 appearances reads serviceable on paper; the reality is far bleaker. Just 647 total minutes this campaign, four brief Premier League cameos, zero league goals. The same explosive winger who spearheaded Italy's Euro 2020 triumph—whose €50 million peak valuation once commanded respect across Europe—now finds himself stranded behind the dominant triumvirate of Szoboszlai (85), Gravenberch (83), and the prolific Isak (87). At 28, Chiesa's physical gifts haven't evaporated—his pace and dribbling remain weapons—but Slot's system demands precision he hasn't yet delivered. For a player built on confidence and explosive acceleration, every substitute appearance becomes a psychological tightrope. With January looming, the question echoes through Merseyside: can Chiesa force his way back into relevance, or will Liverpool join the graveyard of his faded brilliance?