Rarely-seen Liverpool man’s future surely over ahead of Inter Milan clash, despite Mohamed Salah axe
Mohamed Salah’s fallout with Arne Slot looked set to hand one player the perfect chance to embed himself in the Liverpool lineup.
Salah appears set to leave Anfield when the January transfer window opens next month, having spoken very honestly about his treatment, being benched for the previous three games.
With the Egyptian completely off-form in 2025-26, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike have been the Reds’ main sources of goals, even after a summer of major spending on Merseyside.
Alexander Isak has struggled so far, notching just two goals and one assist across all competitions, and Slot’s concerns have just gone from bad to worse following his biggest name’s explosive interview.
Mohamed Salah’s absence could have been a saving grace for Federico Chiesa
After Reds drew 3-3 with Leeds United, they fell to ninth in the Premier League table and must now travel to Italy to face Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, 9 December.
Many supporters were hoping Slot’s decision to drop Salah from the squad entirely would open the door for one player to get onto the pitch, but that appears to have gone up in smoke completely.
While Federico Chiesa has made 15 appearances across all competitions, the Italian international has zero Premier League starts to his name, being given four minutes across the last three games.
Football Insider understands that Liverpool are open to Chiesa leaving in January, and the winger has now missed his chance to prove himself to the manager as the Reds face up against Inter Milan.
Chiesa misses out on Liverpool’s Champions League clash vs Inter Milan
Despite the Reds missing both Salah and Gakpo, Chiesa is also nowhere to be seen after the squad announcement for the trip to Italy.
It is believed that the 28-year-old has picked up an injury in training, despite playing a very limited role on the pitch for Slot, and that could all but seal his future ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
Isak is already struggling to reach full fitness, and with Slot needing players he can depend on for the second half of the campaign, keeping hold of Chiesa makes absolutely zero sense.
While he has popped up with some magical moments since the Dutchman’s arrival, it is not nearly enough to convince a manager that he can fill the void potentially left by Salah next month.