Liverpool are willing to let Federico Chiesa leave on loan for the rest of the season ahead of his main suitors making their first approach imminently – while their stance on his long-term future has also been clarified.

Chiesa has had a torrid time at Anfield so far after arriving in what looked like a bargain deal from Juventus in the summer. Only four times has Arne Slot sent the Italy winger onto the pitch so far for Liverpool.

Injuries have not helped his case, but to get his career back up and running, Chiesa might need to leave Liverpool. On that front, reports have claimed Chiesa wants to return to Italy.

Now, a leading Serie A suitor’s intentions have been revealed. Napoli are ready to make the first move for Chiesa in the coming days, according to Foot Mercato – whose report has rated the chances of different types of deal going through.

According to the report, Chiesa’s agent, Fali Ramadani, met with Liverpool last week and there it was ‘agreed’ for the 27-year-old to go out on a six-month loan.

Ramadani then approached Napoli and Antonio Conte, who have been pushing for Chiesa’s arrival and will now make their first offer ‘in the coming days’.

Napoli want to take him on loan for the rest of the season, but one sticking point could be whether an option to buy is included or not. Liverpool’s current plan is to reintegrate Chiesa next season, but if the option to buy was more than the £10m they spent on him, they could be tempted.

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How will Chiesa salary be covered?

Another factor that Liverpool and Napoli would have to settle before Chiesa could complete his loan move is what portion of his wages each club will pay.

Chiesa earns £150,000 per week from Liverpool. Napoli would need the Premier League club to cover some portion of his salary during his loan spell.

In this regard, there could be room for negotiations. The report hints Liverpool could agree to include an option to buy if they have to cover less of his salary.

Since Liverpool are ‘not totally keen’ on selling Chiesa after just one year, Napoli might need to step up their efforts to find a compromise – with Conte increasingly keen on signing the former Fiorentina and Juventus forward.

Indeed, the report claims Conte has ‘asked his leaders to do everything to lock the deal quickly’.

Latest Liverpool transfer news

Meanwhile, Liverpool are also actively working on the futures of two of their players already out on loan.

It has emerged on Saturday evening that Liverpool are set to recall Stefan Bajcetic from his loan spell at Red Bull Salzburg in order to send him to a LaLiga club.

And Liverpool are also facing mounting interest in young winger Ben Doak, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough but has now been bid for by two Premier League clubs.

There’s quite a lot for Liverpool to juggle then, not forgetting their ongoing contract negotiations with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

Was Chiesa destined to fail at Liverpool?

In an otherwise quiet summer for Liverpool, the addition of Chiesa was a rare highlight.

At the time, many believed it was a good value-for-money operation, recalling how brightly Chiesa shone when Italy won Euro 2020 a few years ago.

However, there were concerns about his injury history, with Chiesa having returned from an ACL injury October 2022 and encountering various (less serious) muscle and knee problems since.

But even tactically, there could have been questions about Liverpool’s plans for Chiesa if he was fully fit. It’s true he can play on either wing, or even more centrally, but he may have suffered because of his versatility by not being able to pinpoint the role that should be his in the team.

Right-footed, he could cut in from the left wing, but that would require him to get ahead of Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo in the pecking order.

And on the right, a fairly significant obstacle in the shape of Salah is still there – for now, at least.

Perhaps Chiesa was brought in to protect Liverpool for the future if Salah was to leave, but although he helped succeed the Egyptian when emerging at Fiorentina, he would not be a like-for-like replacement anyway.

At 27, Chiesa should be in the prime of his career, but what looked like a golden opportunity for Liverpool might just not have been right for them.

Still, if he is to only leave on loan next, he could yet return a more confident player next season if Liverpool are patient and give him another chance.