Why Federico Chiesa was really left out of Liverpool's Champions League squad this season - opinion
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Federico Chiesa has suffered a big blow after being left out of Liverpool’s squad for the upcoming Champions League campaign.
It has been a summer of speculation for Chiesa, who had initially looked likely to depart Anfield after just one season with the Reds.
Having been a surprise signing last summer, the Italian failed to win over Arne Slot, and was reduced to only 15 appearances all term.
But as Liverpool reshaped their forward line in the transfer market, Chiesa survived the cull and surprisingly remained beyond deadline day.
This, coupled with Slot handing him a bigger role in the Liverpool squad during the start of the season, had led to renewed hope that Chiesa could still be a success at Anfield.
Wednesday’s decision has obliterated that illusion, and has left Liverpool supporters asking exactly why Slot has left the Italian out.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Chiesa will likely handle this latest rejection from Slot like a professional.
This is not Chiesa being left out for players of the quality of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz or Diogo Jota.
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Instead, the 27-year-old has missed out in a straight battle with teenager Rio Ngumoha.
Liverpool could have named a 25-man squad for the Champions League group stage.
Instead, they have put only 22 names up for selection.
The reason for that is Liverpool can’t register more than 17 non home-grown players in any one squad.
As he has not been on the books for three seasons, Ngumoha does not count within this group.
As a result, Slot has chosen to give his last attacking place to the 17-year-old instead of Chiesa.
That is essentially what this has come down to.
In a straight shootout with the teenager, Chiesa has lost, and despite all of the promise being shown by Ngumoha, it will be a real body blow for the European Championship winner.
Some will argue that Slot was right to add Ngumoha to the squad instead of Chiesa.
The teenager has shown an ability to change matches already and that could be crucial in Europe.
However, it does feel especially harsh on Chiesa, who had started to look like he could forge a genuine career with the Reds.
Now that he has been sent a cruel reminder of his place in the pecking order, the Italy international appears destined to be play only a bit-part in the Premier League and in Carabao Cup matches until January.
Once the winter window comes around, it already feels inevitable that Chiesa will be on his way back to Italy.
There is hope at Liverpool that Ngumoha can be a better forward than Chiesa in the long-term, but in the short-term, this feels like an unnecessary and wrong decision from Slot which should leave both player and fan hugely disappointed.