Klopp's top Liverpool target finally heading to Anfield with £80m DISCOUNT

Federico Chiesa is now confirmed to be a Liverpool player as a deal is reportedly done for an initial €13 million.

Fabrizio Romano revealed yesterday that Juventus and Liverpool have come to an agreement for the player and that Chiesa is set to sign a four-year deal at Anfield.

The Reds have since confirmed the signing of the Italy international across their social media accounts.

On page four of their print edition this morning, Corriere dello Sport are reporting that Jürgen Klopp had identified Chiesa as his top target in 2021 even going as far as offering €100 million for him, which would have broken the club’s record transfer at the time.

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Juventus rejected this offer but now Chiesa is moving to Liverpool for almost €90 million less.

Why was Chiesa top of Klopp’s list?

At that time Chiesa had just helped Italy to win the Euros, scoring in the semi-final and starting the majority of their matches in the run to the final. He was also part of a Juventus team that won the Coppa Italia.

A dynamic winger that could be deployed on both flanks, Chiesa boasted 26 goal involvements in all competitions with Juve in the 2020/21 season and had only missed a handful of games due to injury at that point in his career.

Liverpool were coming off the back of a season in which they finished third, only securing a UEFA Champions League place on the final day of the season, and it looked as though Liverpool needed reinforcements.

Ibrahima Konaté was the only summer arrival at Liverpool ahead of the 2021/22 season, but Liverpool did strengthen their attacking options in January when Luis Díaz arrived from Porto for €51 million.

Why is Chiesa available for so much less now?

There are multiple factors that have influenced the price that Liverpool are reportedly paying for Chiesa. Firstly, the 26-year-old only has one year left on his deal at Juventus, and the Italian giants do not want to lose him for free next summer.

There is also Chiesa’s injury record. The 51-capped Italian missed nine months of football due to a cruciate ligament tear in 2022 and has picked up a number of minor injuries since then.

Despite his injury problems, Chiesa played in 33 of Juve’s 38 Serie A games last season and also impressed at the Euros with Italy, where he played in every one of their games before elimination.

Although the fact that Chiesa’s price has dropped so drastically in the past three years may worry some supporters, the low fee that has been reported this week represents very minimal risk for Liverpool.

The Reds have started the season impressively and Chiesa could be available as early as Sunday’s visit to Old Trafford.

Supporters’ opinions have been divided online but this could prove to be a shrewd bit of business from Richard Hughes to kick-start Arne Slots first season as Liverpool head coach.