In elite football you often live and die by the sword. For Arne Slot, the small group of trusted lieutenants who made Liverpool the Premier League champions-elect are the same stars who contributed to coming up short in the Carabao Cup and Champions League.
After a bruising 120 minutes and the psychological let-down of losing on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain, Slot’s team looked a shadow of themselves four days later against Newcastle. As he said, it was probably the worst performance of the season.
Going forward, Slot knows he should maybe call on several players waiting in the wings a bit more.
One of those is Federico Chiesa and, in a video posted to Liverpool’s channels this week, we can hear a coach shouting ‘better as a striker’ as the Italian swivels and unleashes a thumping finish.
So is the £10million summer signing finally ready to make an impact?
Well-placed sources have told Confidential that Chiesa is in better shape now than he has been for more than 12 months — and his sweet cameo at Wembley a fortnight ago only underlines that.
Confidential understands he spent the international break working hard with fitness drills after not being selected by Italy after boss Luciano Spalletti said his time in England was a ‘failure’. Chiesa’s dad, former player Enrico, countered this by saying his boy was happy at Liverpool.
There is no hiding from the fact this has been a bitterly disappointing campaign for Chiesa, who signed from Juventus in August after being frozen out in Turin.
Before the goal against Newcastle, it is fair to say Chiesa was fighting for his Anfield future already, despite signing a four-year deal last summer — with the fans at least. He had not made a tangible impact and one goal does not alter that outlook.
But it does start to change the story and, with nine games to go, the Italian should be looking to prove to Slot and Co he CAN impact this team now and in the future.
He turned down much more lucrative offers to join up with Slot. At just £10m, Liverpool knew this was a low-risk option for a player worth £75m just a few years ago. It is understood Juventus will, though, be owed a six-figure sum in add-ons should Liverpool win the Premier League this season.
There is no player more animated than Chiesa on the substitutes’ bench. He metaphorically kicks every ball and is often on his feet clapping and cheering. That has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff — many players in his situation would have been sulking.
Chiesa’s poor performance in the FA Cup exit to Plymouth set him back significantly in the manager’s eyes, but that cameo in the Carabao Cup final has surely put him back in the good books.
With a goals per minute ratio better than Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota this season, he surely deserves to play some part in the title run-in.
Is Bradley ready to be the main man?
Conor Bradley is nearly ready to return for a crucial period in which he will start his audition to be the heir to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s throne, should the England star join Real Madrid.
Arne Slot said on Tuesday that he would make a late call on whether Bradley can be involved against Everton on Wednesday. Regardless of what happens there, the trip to Fulham on Sunday should be a realistic aim.
The 21-year-old has nothing to prove. When he has deputised for Alexander-Arnold in the past, he has barely put a foot wrong. Think of his tackle against Kylian Mbappe in a man-of-the-match display against Real Madrid.
Is he ready? And can he fill Alexander-Arnold’s shoes should he join Real as many expect? The man who perhaps knows best discovered Bradley in Northern Ireland more than a decade ago.
‘A referee who came from Conor’s hometown of Castlederg told me he’s the best kid he’s ever seen and we should get him down to our youth set-up at Dungannon,’ legendary youth coach Joe McAree told Confidential last year. ‘He was eight years old so I laughed and, well… the road from Castlederg to Dungannon is an awful drive – like a snake’s pass.
‘I said I’m not gonna take an eight-year-old and drive him up and down that road three times a week… but thought I would keep an eye out for him. About three years later one of my coaches asked me to go to a wee final in Omagh one night – it was St Patrick’s against another team.
‘Conor was playing centre forward – two feet shorter than everybody else and two or three years younger. I spotted his parents and, after the game, introduced myself and invited him down to Dungannon. I spoke to him in the wee cafe we had and he said, “We’ll have a think about it and come back to you”.
‘The people at Liverpool know a lot more about football than me. But I will say this: whenever someone decides to put him in the Steven Gerrard role, you’ll have an even better player… that’s all I’ll say!
‘He’s a talented boy, with a great attitude. From the first day I met him in the cafe, he looked me in the eye and smiled, it just felt different. For an 11-year-old boy it was just different, the focus he had. He knew what he wanted to be, he was a Liverpool supporter.
‘This boy can get from box to box like a reindeer, tremendous stamina, he can thread passes into places you wouldn’t know were there. I’m waiting patiently for him to move to midfield and be the next Gerrard. It’s a fairytale. He must think he has died and gone to heaven!’
Your questions answered
A new feature to Confidential where I will pick some fans’ questions to answer.
Masska asks: How big is the chance for Liverpool to sell Harvey Elliott? And can Xavi Simons be an option for Liverpool in this case?
It is fair to say Harvey Elliott has an uncertain future at Liverpool but the fortnight before the international break was a really strong one for him, despite the results for the team overall.
I’m talking about the goal against Paris Saint-Germain in the Parc des Princes and the assist for Federico Chiesa in the Carabao Cup final. Two really big contributions which will have pleased Arne Slot.
Elliott loves Liverpool. He wants nothing more than to succeed at this football club. He has said so many times when we have spoken to him this year. He was devastated about the broken foot he suffered at the start of this season.
There is certainly interest in him but Liverpool will not be forcing him out of the door, that is for sure. In these last nine games of the season, I’d like to see Slot give him more minutes to prove himself and, if nothing else, boost the price tag if an exit is on the cards.
IWLFC asks: Is Hugo Ekitike a real candidate for Liverpool? Are we advanced on any summer signing?
We are only in April so in terms of ‘advanced’, no. But Liverpool have been doing due diligence on targets and scoping out potential deals.
Ekitike’s name is one that pops up almost daily, described to me yesterday as ‘a mini Alexander Isak’. It seems a very Michael Edwards move to sign the ‘mini’ version of a striker for three times less money than the actual version.
Frankfurt striker Ekitike, with 19 goals and eight assists this season, is certainly on the radar of top clubs around Europe. Confidential regulars will recall our in-depth look at him last week from a colleague who watched him live for France Under 21s.
He is certainly one to keep an eye on but nothing more than that at this stage.
Daniel asks: How many incomings can you see us getting? Are we in for more than one striker?
Speaking on the condition of the social media aggregators not eating this up, I would guess at four or five! Depending on outgoings.
I can’t realistically see more than one striker coming in. But again it depends on who leaves. If two of the front six depart then they would have to be replaced.
Liverpool ask for fans to be on best behaviour
Liverpool have warned supporters that they will reroute the team bus en route to Anfield if the roads are too busy – as has happened before several big games this season.
Fans like to line Anfield Road on matchday, with thousands there with red flares for the bigger games. But the club this morning warned that safety is the priority.
A statement read: ‘The club would like supporters to keep welcoming the team bus – it’s a big part of the Anfield pre-match atmosphere – but to do that safely, the road must be kept clear on Anfield Road. If it’s blocked, which was the case for the Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain, then there will be no choice but to reroute the team bus.
‘Meet and greets along Anfield Road are a matchday tradition. Fans attending the match can help to make sure the team gets the welcome they deserve without compromising safety by staying on the footpaths, staying off the road and by using the whole length of Anfield Road.
‘Rerouting the team bus is not something the club wants to do for any game, but it is something that will happen if the route is deemed unsafe.’
Anyone fancy a trip to the Maldives?
The President of the Maldives will be a special guest of Liverpool this week.
President Muizzu, who has been in office since November 2023, is on Merseyside due to the club’s link-up with Visit Maldives.
The visit marks the nation becoming Liverpool’s official tourism partner a fortnight ago.
He will have a tour of the AXA Training Centre and also meet Maldivian students in the UK.
Sorry to say there is no sign of a pre-season friendly in the Maldives just yet though, Reds fans!
Red Riddle
Last week I asked: Wataru Endo has played 26 times in all competitions for Liverpool this season but is yet to make a single league start.
He joins three other players in Reds history who have played more than 15 times in one season without making a single league start. Who are they?
The answers were: Jonjo Shelvey 2010-11 (21), Harvey Elliott 2024-25 (21) and Divock Origi 2021-22 (18).
If you got them, then well done, that was tough.
This week, Liverpool travel to Fulham on Sunday so I am asking you to name the 15 players past or present who have played for both teams in the Premier League era.
Anything in double figures is a great score. Good luck!
