European giants AC Milan have now reportedly made their move for a “quality” Liverpool player, with the individual in question not part of Arne Slot’s plans.
Liverpool head off to Asia without certain players
The Reds are continuing their preparations for the defence of their Premier League title, with the start of the new season now less than a month away, and the champions opening their account with a home clash against Bournemouth on August 15th.
Liverpool have now flown off to Asia for two pre-season friendlies over the next eight days, taking on AC Milan in Hong Kong on Saturday and then Yokohama FM in Japan on July 30th.
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While the usual suspects are all involved for the Reds, from Mohamed Salah to new signing Florian Wirtz – Hugo Ekitike will head to Asia once his move to Anfield is officially completed – some players haven’t made the cut.
One such figure is Federico Chiesa, with the 27-year-old enduring a tough first season at Liverpool and now not being a part of Slot’s plans moving forward with a move away expected. For that reason, a key update has now emerged regarding his future.
AC Milan in contact with Liverpool forward Chiesa
According to a fresh claim from Caught Offside, AC Milan have now initiated “indirect contact” with Liverpool attacker Chiesa over a summer move to the club.
It is noted that “the financial dimension could pose challenges”, though, while former club Juventus are also mentioned as potential suitors for the £13m-rated Italian. Atletico Madrid and Atalanta are said to be in the mix, too, and “his omission from the club’s Asia tour squad makes it increasingly clear” that an exit is expected.
Losing Chiesa would be a shame, considering what a popular figure he has been among the fanbase, mainly because of his strong team ethic and beaming smile, even when he isn’t featuring much.
It does appear as though Slot doesn’t consider him part of his plans moving forward, though, despite former Reds Under-23s manager Barry Lewtas heaping praise on him last year, in terms of the impact he made alongside young players.
“Obviously you can see from the quality of his career so far, this is why he’s at one of the best clubs in the world. His professionalism and his quality were really good. It obviously just gives our boys a little bit of a chance to play against someone of that quality [and] it’s a really good learning opportunity for them.”
Keeping Chiesa would be no bad thing, in terms of squad depth, but the brutal reality is that he didn’t do enough to impress Slot in his first year at Liverpool, so omitting him from the pre-season tour and looking to move him on does make sense as the Reds look to cash in.
