Liverpool star could leave just five months after arriving

Federico Chiesa continues to be linked with an early exit from Liverpool with reports claiming the Italian is eyeing a return home.

The 27-year-old was the only new arrival under Arne Slot this summer but has made just four appearances for the Reds in five months.

Chiesa moved to Anfield on deadline day on a cut-price deal having been frozen out by his former club Juventus.

Slot's only other activity in terms of incomings was an arrangement that will see Giorgi Mamardashvili arrive in 2025.

Joining for £10million rising to £12.5m, Chiesa's transfer was similarly labelled as opportunistic for a winger now hampered by injuries.

According to reports in France, the deal hasn't worked out and the player is already looking for a way out of Merseyside this winter.

Foot Mercato claim Chiesa is looking to reignite his career with a loan move back to Italy in order to gain some much-needed playing time.

Napoli are said to be the favourites to land the Euro 2020 winner but face competition from Inter Milan and his old club Fiorentina.

His wages will likely prove a sticking point in negotiations, with all three clubs needing Liverpool to cover part of his salary.

The outlet adds that Chiesa has been convinced by Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti that returning to Serie A would help him regain confidence and match fitness - with doubts over his spot in the national team.

Chiesa was once one of Europe's most-highly rated prospects before suffering a devastating ACL injury in 2022.

His chances of hitting the ground running at Liverpool were hindered by his lack of pre-season after being shown the door by Juventus.

Chiesa managed just 78 minutes across three Liverpool appearances - most of which were in the Carabao Cup - before yet another injury.

He did not play at all between September 25 and December 18 and was put on a specialized training programme to get him up to speed.

During this period, doubts over the forward's long-term future first emerged but were emphatically dismissed by Liverpool boss Slot.

When asked about Chiesa's future in October, Slot said: "[Parting ways with Chiesa] hasn't gone through my mind at all. First and foremost is that he gets fit again and then we can see where he is.

"He missed pre-season [with Liverpool] and in pre-season [with Juventus] he was on low-intensity sessions as he had to train with three or four players separate from the group.

"Going from then to a high-intensity league, to a high-intensity playing style is difficult in general for every player, but especially if you had a pre-season like this."

Chiesa finally made his comeback appearance during the 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Southampton before Christmas.

The Italy international was introduced at half-time at St Mary's and completed the rest of the quarter-final victory.

On Chiesa's performance on his return Slot added: “I saw ups and downs. I saw some really good moments and I saw some moments where I felt like, ‘OK, you can do better than this’.

“For me, that’s completely normal if a player’s been out for so long, plays his first game in five or six months probably (three months).”

However, he has not figured in either of Liverpool's two Premier League games since then.

Chiesa was absent from the 6-3 win at Tottenham due to illness while he was an unused substitute for Boxing Day's triumph over Leicester.