Liverpool all but confirm star is NOT staying

Liverpool all but confirmed that there's no future for one star on Saturday. This certainly wasn't the plan.

Liverpool finally saw off Southampton on Saturday but it wasn't as routine as planned. This was distant top vs distant bottom - but the 'wrong' team took the lead.

Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker conspired with errors each to gift the visitors the opener. That was right before half-time, too, meaning Liverpool were forced to come out with a completely different intensity.

Fortunately, they did just that. Darwin Nunez was brilliant, scoring the first and winning a penalty for the second. It was the kind of performance that brought back the age-old Nunez problem.

Mo Salah grabbed a couple from the penalty spot, with Luis Diaz winning the penalty for the third goal. Those goals meant Salah equalled the 38-game record for goal involvements in a Premier League season.

Incredible, really, given it's March 8th.

This was a positive day for Liverpool, then. They're now 16 points clear at the top, with the title in sight. Arne Slot's team also made a bit of history, delivering a moment unseen in 90 years.

And yet, one player had a disaster. So much so that Liverpool all but confirmed his exit.

It looks grim for Federico Chiesa

Federico Chiesa was the sole signing by Liverpool heading into this season. He's the only addition to what was a squad built by and for Jurgen Klopp.

And yet, Slot does not seem to fancy him. Saturday was always going to be a day where Chiesa's future was potentially confirmed and we think it's safe to say it was.

The Italian has played just 28 Premier League minutes, which is an absolutely bizarre figure. Especially as those minutes are stretched across three matches.

If you want to put it another way, Chiesa has completed a total of 15 passes in the Premier League. He's had two shots. That's essentially his entire output in England's top flight.

Now, at first, the issue was fitness. Chiesa didn't have a pre-season with Juventus and it meant he arrived at Anfield unable to keep up.

Liverpool put him to one side after a bright start and let him get up to speed. We were told that was the plan heading into January.

Only, he's still not playing. There have been seven Premier League minutes in 2025, with zero since January 25th. Slot just doesn't pick him.

Saturday, though, was a prime opportunity to play Chiesa. Liverpool were fresh off an intense meeting with Paris Saint-Germain, with a repeat coming on Tuesday.

And yet Chiesa still didn't get off the bench. Slot didn't pick him even at a time when squad rotation was at the forefront of his mind. That's as good a sign as you can get that there's no future here.

Liverpool have now all but confirmed that Chiesa doesn't have a place in this squad and unless there's a dramatic change before the seasons out, he's almost certainly gone in the summer.