Arne Slot completely shuts down rumoured Liverpool transfer in January

Arne Slot has poured cold water on speculation Liverpool could axe Federico Chiesa in January, though TEAMtalk has been informed the Italian is NOT viewed as the long-term successor to Mohamed Salah and attempts to find one have already begun.

Liverpool raised eyebrows when signing the often-injured Federico Chiesa for £12.5m (including add-ons) over the summer. There are no doubts about Chiesa’s quality and effectiveness as a forward, though the same cannot be said about his fitness and availability.

While it’s still early stages, Chiesa has thus far been blighted by familiar injury issues since moving to Anfield. Indeed, he’s been limited to just three appearances totalling 78 minutes.

That has led to speculation Chiesa could be in line for a quick-fire return to Italy in the winter window. Both Juventus and AC Milan have been indexed with six-month loan swoops.

But according to Slot – who was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s League Cup clash with Brighton –  parting ways with Chiesa is not something that is under consideration.

“It hasn’t gone through my mind at all,” said Slot when asked about the prospect of a loan move.

“First is to get him fit. He missed pre-season and in pre-season he was in low intensity sessions as he was only training with three or four players. To go to a high intensity league is difficult for every player.

“It hasn’t been perfect yet so we are trying to find the right way to build him up and I’m fully confident that will happen.”

Liverpool working on Salah successor – it’s not Chiesa

When asked if Chiesa would feature against Brighton, Slot confirmed the winger would not be available. That prompted Slot to offer insight as to when we could see Chiesa on the field again.

“It’s difficult to say, he’s sometimes up and down a bit,” admitted the Reds boss. “He trains a few days then goes out again. I don’t want to put days or weeks on it.

“We just want him to be in the best possible shape. No pressure on him.”

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Rudy Galetti, reported on October 25 that a Chiesa return to Italy in January was ‘improbable.’

Aged 27, Chiesa could conceivably be viewed as a potential successor to Mohamed Salah who is in the final year of his contract at Anfield.

However, Galetti explained Liverpool’s intention was always to sign Chiesa as a depth piece and not with a view to taking Salah’s spot in the starting eleven should the Egyptian depart.

Instead, Galetti added sporting director Richard Hughes has already begun to explore the market for a Salah successor.

Options Liverpool have shown varying levels of interest in so far include Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund) and Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford).

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In other news, talkSPORT claim Brentford fully expect to receive offers for Mbeumo in 2025. The Bees have slapped a £50m price tag on the forward who’s bagged eight goals in nine Premier League games this season.

Elsewhere, the i newspaper claim the real reason Liverpool swerved Ruben Amorim when seeking a successor to Jurgen Klopp was his insistence on playing three at the back.

Per the report, that determination from Amorim proved a ‘deal-breaker’ for the Reds. Manchester United have no such qualms about fielding a back three and have agreed a deal with Amorim to become their next permanent manager.

Finally, The Athletic revealed that prior to signing Mason Mount, Erik ten Hag actually wanted Ryan Gravenberch.

However, Bayern Munich initially informed Man Utd Gravenberch was not for sale. United signed Mount instead and by the time Bayern softened their stance, the Red Devils could not finance the move.

Liverpool duly stepped in on deadline day of the 2023 summer window. After a sluggish first season, Gravenberch has developed into one of the Premier League’s finest midfielders since Slot arrived.

ACL injury may define Chiesa’s career