How Chiesa embarrassed a Liverpool legend the last time they faced off

Liverpool have confirmed the singing of Federico Chiesa from Juventus for a fee of around £13 million including add-ons.

The Italian has passed his medical checks, signed his contract and has been unveiled by the club across their social media channels.

The 26-year-old has been capped 51 times by Italy and is the second signing of the Arne Slot era at Anfield, after a deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili was announced earlier this week.

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The move for Chiesa has divided opinion online but many Liverpool supporters have already warmed to the forward after he shared his answer to an age-old debate involving Steven Gerrard.

How Chiesa embarrassed a Liverpool legend

Many of Chiesa’s new teammates are already familiar with the winger, perhaps none more so than captain Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk will no doubt be pleased to have Chiesa on his team as last time the pair met on the pitch it didn’t end well for the Dutchman.

In the 2023 third place play-off for the UEFA Nations League the Netherlands, captained by Van Dijk, came up against Chiesa’s Italy.

In the 71^st minute the pair found themselves in a one-on-one battled that ended with Chiesa scoring the winner and Van Dijk being ridiculed for his defending.

Chiesa found himself in space on the left side of the pitch and van Dijk failed to close him down properly. A few step overs later and Chiesa had glided past the Dutch captain and eased the ball into the far side of the net, sealing the win for his nation.

Van Dijk was called out for the questionable defending online after the match and will surely be glad that next time he finds himself on the same pitch as Chiesa they could both be playing for the same side.

How does Chiesa fit at Liverpool

The Euros winner is coming into a Liverpool side that is already blessed with attacking options including Mohamed Salah, Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo but he still has a lot to offer to the Anfield team.

Chiesa can be deployed right across the front line but has played most of his minutes at right-wing, a position that Liverpool currently lack depth in.

The main concern many Liverpool supporters have voiced is the former Fiorentina man’s injury record, which has seen him miss a lot of football since he made his move to Juve in 2020.

Most of this absence can be put down to a cruciate ligament tear that saw Chiesa miss nine months of football in 2022 and, although he has picked up some injuries since then, there has been nothing to serious since his return.

For such a minimal fee, there is little risk for Liverpool signing a player who could go on to become a top star under Arne Slot.

Chiesa is joining a team that has started the season impressively and could even be registered in time to play against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.