Liverpool have agreed a deal to signal Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10m plus £2.5m in add-ons, with the ahead having travelled to Merseyside for a medical.
The 26-year-old Italy worldwide operates primarily as a winger or a second striker and if the deal is accomplished as anticipated he might be Arne Slot’s second signing as Liverpool head coach, following the €30m (£25.3m) deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia on Tuesday. The Georgia goalkeeper will transfer formally to Anfield, topic to a piece allow and worldwide clearance being granted, earlier than the 2025-26 season.
“I’m prepared to begin this new journey, I wished to say goodbye to the Juventus followers,” Chiesa mentioned as he ready to board a flight from Turin to Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon. “Thanks in your affection and for these years, I’ll carry you in my coronary heart and because of Juventus.
“Is it unhappy to depart Juve like this? It’s unhappy however I’m actually glad for this new journey. I’m actually glad and my household and I can’t wait.”
Chiesa is predicted to signal a four-year contract with Liverpool and his impending arrival there’s something of a shock given the spectacular attacking choices already at Slot’s disposal, particularly Mohamed Salah, Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo. Liverpool’s precedence this window gave the impression to be signing a defensive midfielder, with a transfer for Spain’s Euro 2024 winner Martín Zubimendi from Actual Sociedad falling by means of this month.
In focusing on Chiesa, who was a star of Italy’s triumphant Euro 2020 marketing campaign and has scored 32 objectives in 131 appearances for Juventus having joined the membership from Fiorentina in 2020, initially on mortgage earlier than making the transfer everlasting two years later, it seems Liverpool are looking for to make the kind of “opportunistic” signing their new sporting director, Richard Hughes, mentioned was a chance at Slot’s unveiling as head coach in early July.
Chiesa has had damage points previously couple of years however his comparatively low price can primarily be put all the way down to Juventus’s want to promote a participant who solely has one yr remaining on his contract and isn’t within the plans of recently-appointed supervisor Thiago Motta. “We have to enhance on the coaching pitch initially, as Arne mentioned. With the window open, we’ll all the time be opportunistic if we are able to,” mentioned Hughes in July.
Chiesa’s father, Enrico, was a striker who performed for Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio amongst others. He additionally scored seven objectives in 17 appearances for Italy within the mid-to-late Nineteen Nineties.
In the meantime, Núñez has been handed a five-game worldwide ban for his function within the dysfunction that occurred on the finish of Uruguay’s Copa América semi-final loss to Colombia final month.
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Following the ultimate whistle, the striker appeared to confront supporters seated within the Colombia part of the Financial institution of America Stadium in North Carolina after a brawl broke out close to to put on the Uruguay group’s households had been seated. Uruguay had simply been crushed 1-0 by Colombia, who performed the entire of the second half with 10 males, to overlook out on a spot within the remaining.
Nunez, who was captured in video footage throwing a chair in the direction of the place Colombia supporters had been sitting, has additionally acquired a £15,000 nice. Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur, who was concerned within the fracas, has been given a four-game worldwide ban and fined £12,000, whereas Mathías Olivera, Ronald Araújo and José María Giménez have every been suspended for 3 matches.
Uruguay’s soccer affiliation defended their gamers within the aftermath of the incident, claiming they had been merely making an attempt to stop their households from coming to hurt.