Federico Chiesa to Liverpool : Tale of his trailblazers and a cheap shot at immortality

Federico Chiesa is passing a scheduled medical and an official announcement away from becoming a new Liverpool player.

Liverpool seized the market opportunity with the signing of Federico Chiesa on a four-year contract in a €13 million guaranteed fee from Juventus, making him the first outfield signing in the Arne Slot era.

Giorgi Mamardashvili has just been signed in a €30 million plus €5 milion add-ons from Valencia. However, the Georgian goalkeeper will not join the club until next summer. Chiesa will become the first arrival under the Dutchman.

The Italian winger, known for his explosive pace, dribbling, and tenacity, arrives at Anfield with a reputation as one of the most dynamic attacking players in European football. Last season in the Serie A, Chiesa wa highly rated, scoring ten goals and two assists for The Biaconerri.

The transfer is seen as a statement of intent from the Reds, who are looking to bolster their attacking options to kickoff Slot’s first season with intent in both domestic and European competitions.

The purpose of this article is to inform about the Italians in the history of Liverpool and the plenty records to be potentially broken by Federico Chiesa. Our findings have shown that the poor performances of Italians at Liverpool would definitely see the 26-year-old become the greatest Azzurro the Anfield crowd has cheered for.

Chiesa will become the seventh Italian to sign for Liverpool and to kickoff this article, we take a look at the fate of his countrymen to have secured moves to the red side of Anfield in years past.

According to our research, there were six of them. The first-ever being a poor goalkeeper, one a talented but inexperienced midfielder, one an overrated forward and the final one, the troublesome Super Mario. It has been chaos hence little wonder Liverpool don’t have many of them on the record books.

Italian players signed by Liverpool

Tale of Azzuris in Anfield

Goalkeeper Daniele Paadelli joined on a six month loan from Sampdoria between January and June 2007. He was able to make an appearance for the club and it came on the final day of the 2006-07 season against Charlton Athletic.

Padelli was unable to impress and conceded two cheap goals. He returned to Sampdoria at the end of the season, but he did became the first Italian to represent Liverpool, albeit there was no chance the club would retain him after what was a disastrous 90 minutes in goal.

Defender Gabriel Paletta was signed in a £2m deal from CA Barfield in June 2006. Although he signed a four-year contract, Paletta left for Boca Juniors the following summer, as Liverpool signed Emiliano Insua, increasing competition for a position he never made his own.

He made eight appearances for The Reds, scoring one goal. He never really get going at the club and his chances would have only gotten glimmer had he stayed beyond that summer.

Andrea Dossena would become the second Italian outfielder to play for Liverpool following his £7m move to England from Udinese in the summer of 2008.

He struggled to get into his strides but is he famous amongst the kop for his two goals for the club, scored against Real Madrid and Manchester United in UEFA Champions League and Premier League respectively.

Dossena returned to Italy and joined Napoli in 2010 after just 31 Liverpool appearances.

Albert Aquilani joined Liverpool as a promising young midfielder in 2009 in a £17m deal from his boyhood club, AS Roma, for whom he had already made one shy of 150 appearances.

He had an impressive first year but the departure of Rafa Benitez would equally spend the end of him at the club. Aquilani spent the next two seasns on loan at Juventus and then Milan before permanently return to Italy, joining Fiorentina.

28 Liverpool appearances. Two goals and six assists, which included three in 22 minutes vs. Burnley. It was clear that Aquilani is a talent but Roy Hodgson is convinced that the Italian would not fit into his plans.

Fabio Borini arrived in the same summer Aquilani departed as Liverpool parted with £10.5 million to make him the first signing of the Brendan Rodgers era.

He arrived on the back of a good season with AS Roma, where he scored ten goals in 24 appearances across all competitions. In his first season with Liverpool, Borini played 20 games, scoring twice. He was loaned out to Sunderland the following season.

He spent the 2014-15 season with Liverpool, taking his total appearances for the club to 38, and adding just one more goal to the previous two before joining Sunderland in a permanent move for £10 million in the summer.

Mario Balotelli was the latest Italian to represent Liverpool. He was the Luis Suárez replacement in 2014, joining in a £16 million move from AC Milan. For his Premier League experience garnered at Manchester City, he was deemed a worthy signing.

Unfortunately, he was adjudged by many to be among the worst signings of the season after scoring four goals in 28 appearances, while also involved in some controversies, including a one match and fined £25,000 for posting an image on social media which appeared to contain antisemitic references.

Balotelli was loaned back to Milan the following season and would make no further Reds appearance before sealing a permanent move away OGC Nice, with the Premier League club’s only consolation being 30 per cent on sell-on.

Federico Chiesa : Cheap Shot at Immortality

Given The Reds’ former Italian players did not do great at the club, Chiesa could break all records regarding Italy in his first season at the club. The only exception could be becoming the first Italian to play for the club, which will forever be owned by former goalkeeper Daniele Paadelli.

Should he be safe from the fever of his countrymen in Anfield, he will have the opportunity to become an all-timer even in his early days.

Short-term Records Federico Chiesa may break at Liverpool

Federico Chiesa will be in line to break the record for the most Premier League goals for Liverpool, by an Italian player. The record for most stands at two, owned by Fabio Borini. Should he score on his debut, he’ll become the first of his countrymen to do so in the club’s history.

He is also in line to break the record of the highest scoring Italian in the history of Liverpool. The record for most is four, owned by Mario Balotelli.

And if can hit the ground running, he may be able to set a new record for most Premier League goals in a single season by an Italian. A record currently owned by Paolo Di Canio, who hit 16 strikes in his debut season at West Ham United, in 1999-2000. And with the current Liverpool side under Arne Slot, why not ?

Federico Chiesa also has the chance to become the Italian with the most appearances for Liverpool this season, provided he stays fit. Fabio Borini holds the record, with 38 appearances.

Chiesa could also easily break the record for most assists registered for the club amongst other Italians. Record currently belongs to Albert Aquilani, who had six in the colours of the Reds that never walk alone.

Long-term records to break

The record for the most Premier League goals by an Italian is currently being held by Paolo Di Canio, the former forward who represented Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham United and Charlton Athletic between 1997 and 2004. He scored 66 times.

However, the record for most Premier League goals for a single club by an Italian is 58, belonging to Gianfranco Zola, who did so for Chelsea between 1996 and 2003.

The most Premier League appearances by an Italian is 229, owned by Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola. While Chiesa is 26 and has poor injury history, he is not fancied to break the record, albeit it is not impossible.

Provided he stays fit and is able to do the Federico Chiesa things, he is projected to become Liverpool’s greatest Italian player come the end of this season. He has the coach who believes in him by bringing him to Anfield, and his environment is one of the best around.

Liverpool fans will be excited to see how Chiesa integrates into an already potent attacking lineup featuring the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Darwin Núñez, and Diogo Jota. His arrival could signal a shift in the team’s attacking dynamics, offering additional width, creativity, and unpredictability in the final third.

However, the former Fiorentina man has a lot of job to do to win the trust of the manager, given how the trio of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota have started the season, which has limited their record signing Darwin Nunez to just 18 minutes played after two games.

Will Federico Chiesa have a good time at Liverpool ? Drop your takes about the topic in the comment section.

Hassan Afolabi