Chiesa for Peanuts: How Juve Cashed In and Liverpool Got a Headache
Liverpool thought they’d pinched a bargain in 2024, snapping up Federico Chiesa from Juventus for around €13 million (£10.95m). After an 11-goal, two-assist 2023/24 and memories of his Euro 2020 fireworks, it looked a shrewd bit of business. Fast forward to now and Andoni Iraola has left him out of the 2026–27 Champions League squad. So how did a marquee name end up on the margins?
Why Juventus accepted so little
The simple truth is that the market forces were against Juventus. Chiesa had just a year left on his deal and the club could see a free transfer looming. Add the shadow of that serious knee injury in January 2022 — and the months it took to truly trust his body again — and you’re looking at a depreciating asset. Then there’s the tactical mismatch: he was often used as a support striker in Turin when his best work has always come from the wing. A chunky wage packet for a player who’d slipped from the inner circle sealed the logic. Italian analyst Stefano Buonfino outlined the same pillars on Transfermarkt at the time: contract, role, fitness and salary. Put together, it pushed Juve towards a sale at a knock-down price.
In plain English: Juve needed to trim the bill, Chiesa wanted a reset, and with a year left on his contract after a long injury battle, the Old Lady took the money. For all the noise around value, that equation made sense to the sellers — and gave Liverpool a low-risk punt that looked irresistible to those browsing the best betting sites for summer bargains.
Anfield reality: bright idea, dim return
Arne Slot made Chiesa his sole summer recruit in 2024, but minutes were scarce and the Italian watched more football than he played. He did become only the second Italian to lift the Premier League title — a neat pub-quiz line — yet his contribution was largely from the bench. The second season didn’t change much under Slot, and now Iraola’s call to omit him from Europe underlines where he sits in the pecking order.
The numbers so far
As of 3 September 2026, Chiesa has 50 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions with five goals and five assists. Break it down and you get: Premier League — 32 matches (2 goals, 1 assist); Champions League — 8 (1, 1); FA Cup — 5 (1, 0); EFL Cup — 5 (1, 3). Credit: Transfermarkt.
Was the ‘joke’ fee really a joke?
At the time, one journalist on X called the fee a “joke”, even name-checking the old Diouf and Heskey sums for comparison. But context is king. Juventus were clearing a high earner who might walk for nothing in 12 months, and Liverpool were buying upside at a price that wouldn’t wreck the budget. Two years on, the upside hasn’t materialised — that’s sport — but the fee reflected risk more than reputation.
What next for Chiesa?
There’s still a player in there. To find him, Liverpool need to use Chiesa where he’s most dangerous: high and wide, facing the game, not with his back to goal. If he rediscovers that first step and starts trusting the knee over a sustained run, he can still influence domestic cups and late-season league swings. If not, a parting of ways — perhaps back to Serie A — feels inevitable. Either way, the story is a warning: even proven tournament stars can be battered by timing, injuries and fit. The fee wasn’t the scandal; the fit was.
