Federico Chiesa was left out of Liverpool’s squad for the Champions League
Arne Slot has revealed how Federico Chiesa reacted to being left out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad, admitting the Italian was not happy with the decision. The Dutchman ultimately opted to select Rio Ngumoha ahead of the forward when choosing his 23-man squad for this season’s league phase.
The teenager is not yet eligible for a homegrown place or spot on ‘List B’, having only joined the Reds from Chelsea last summer.
Had a deadline day move for Marc Guehi not fallen through, Liverpool would have likely included Chiesa in their ranks with summer signing Giovanni Leoni – who is also not eligible to be registered on Liverpool’s list of Under-21s players – instead left out of their Champions League squad.
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But with Slot needed the additional option at centre-back after missing out on the England international, he took the difficult decision to leave out Chiesa.
Speaking ahead of the Reds’ trip to Burnley, the Dutchman admitted it was a difficult decision to make. But while Chiesa was not happy with his choice, Slot has been impressed by the Italian’s reaction.
“Of course that is one of the most difficult things you have to do as a manager,” he said. “For a player not to play, it is not always easy to tell them but not to be in the squad is always more difficult.
“I just explained to him why we made this choice. Of course he wasn’t happy with that. I think he understood my arguments – that is not to say he agreed with them. He didn’t tell me, by the way, that he didn’t agree with them!
“But he gave me the answer you want to hear from a player, that he will be there to help the team in the cups and in the league.
“That’s one thing to say but I think he also showed this because he wasn’t selected but he worked really hard these days to be ready for the upcoming days. That is even more important than what a player tells you.”
Chiesa will at least be eligible for Liverpool’s trip to Burnley on Sunday as the Reds return to Premier League action following the September international break.
And while they could be bolstered by the return of Jeremie Frimpong after he took part in training earlier this week following a hamstring injury, Slot revealed that Liverpool are set to be without Curtis Jones after the midfielder suffered an injury against Arsenal.
“I think they are fit. We train today for the first time with them,” he said. “With most of them, the non-internationals did train with the Under-21s this week already.
“Curtis Jones, I don’t know if you knew but he got injured in the last game so he will not be available for the game against Burnley.
“But I think the rest of them all came back without a problem and that is not always the situation, especially at the beginning of the season where everybody comes from a different background, goes to the national team where they all of a sudden have to play two games in four or five days.
“It’s always the biggest risk in November and October. In March they are much more used to that programme. We’re happy that they are fit.
“Again, not only a complement to the Sweden manager (for managing Alexander Isak carefully) but also for the others. A few others like Ryan Gravenberch only started one game and not both of them.”
Meanwhile, Slot also took time to praise Harvey Elliott following his deadline day move to Aston Villa, insisting the switch was in the best interests of all parties after the midfielder found his opportunities limited at Anfield.
“Another positive thing, not only Harvey but also if I look at Luis Diaz, how he hit the ground running at Bayern Munich,” he said. “It is a big compliment for our performance staff and the people that work in this building.
“Every time a player leaves, Tyler Morton does really well at Lyon. That tells you how we bring players to other clubs.
“Harvey is in a very good place going to a very nice club in Aston Villa. It is in the interests of everyone. He didn’t get the playing time he deserved for the quality player he is.
“He conducted himself always so well. It wasn’t only that when he said this was his club that he wanted to say this to the fans, he acted inside with him not playing so much.
“He was always doing what was in the best interests of the club. He deserves a big compliment for that.
“Everyone always talks about Mo [Salah] and Virgil [van Dijk], when we win the league, but players like him were definitely also the reason we could win it because he was always positive.
“If he had to play five or 10 minutes he helped the team in every decision he did. That is partly the success of the team, that the ones that don’t play that much have the right mindset.
“I think he is completely ready now to show the quality he has at Aston Villa.”
