The summer transfer target who told Liverpool 'no' - Reds were one of the first in for him ✋

Juventus have an obligation-to-buy the forward next summer... an option they're likely to seize with both hands 🤝

Following his exciting displays during the European Championship, it seemed almost every Liverpool fan watching the international competition became keen on Federico Chiesa in unison.

With the Reds’ recruitment said to be keeping an eye out for a new forward - in the wake of limited contributions from Divock Origi and former Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri - speculation over the Italian’s future was rife. Anfield had been listed as a possible destination.

As it turns out, the Merseysiders were indeed interested in arranging a permanent change of scenery for the 23-year-old, however, according to Gianluca Di Marzio, it wasn’t a change the attacker was keen on at the time.

“One of the first teams that had asked Fiorentina for Chiesa was Liverpool. But Chiesa said: ‘No, I don’t want to go to the Premier League because I want to stay in Italy’,” the journalist told Sky Italia.

“He had already promised himself to Juve for a while. Liverpool always arrive early for certain players. They had already arrived for Chiesa, but both Federico and his father [ex-Italy international Enrico Chiesa] said no to the Premier League at that moment.

“But he would be a player with the ideal characteristics for the Premier League.”

At 23 years of age (24 by the next summer window), the reality remains that the Fiorentina loanee suits the age profile Michael Edwards and co. tend to target.

That being said, should our interest in the versatile forward persist over the course of the season, we’ll be faced with a serious complication in the form of Juventus’ obligation-to-buy.

Exercising this will set the Old Lady back to the tune of €40m; a sizeable dent, though hardly a deal-breaker.

Having said all that, Juventus’ financial concerns are far from insignificant - the Italian outfit lost €210m due to the ramifications of COVID-19 - and could yet play a role in opening the door for a prospective suitor.

Whether Liverpool are that interested party in question - or whether our interest or finances are compliant - is another matter entirely, however.

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