Chiesa Considers Liverpool Future as Iraola Takes Charge

Federico Chiesa will sit down with new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola in the coming days, but all signs still point in one direction: the exit door at Anfield.

The Italy international arrived on Merseyside with the profile of a game-changer. He has instead found himself on the fringes. His second season brought more involvement, yet the Premier League picture barely shifted. One league start across the entire campaign tells its own story.

For a 28-year-old winger entering the prime of his career, that is nowhere near enough.

Prime Years, Limited Minutes

Chiesa wants what every top forward at his age demands: a guaranteed platform. Regular football, a rhythm, a role he can grow into rather than cameo from.

Those chances have not come in the league. He has watched others leapfrog him in the pecking order, his influence restricted to scraps of minutes and occasional rotation appearances. It has fuelled an inevitable question: what comes next?

The arrival of Iraola at least delays any definitive answer. A new manager brings new ideas, new hierarchies, and, for players like Chiesa, one last opening to change the narrative.

Chiesa has already made it clear that those conversations with Iraola will be crucial before he decides his future.

“I Need to Play”

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano summed up the mood around the winger’s situation after Chiesa spoke in Italy about his ambitions.

According to Romano, Chiesa made his stance plain: he wants to play on a more consistent basis. That message has shaped the current expectation within the market.

“The expectation is for Federico Chiesa to leave Liverpool this summer,” Romano explained, outlining the growing belief that this relationship is edging towards its conclusion.

Chiesa, though, is not walking away without one final look at what life under Iraola might offer. As Romano relayed, the winger wants to travel with the squad to the United States, sit down with the new head coach, and get a clear, honest assessment of where he stands.

He knows the stakes. “I want to play, I need to play,” was the essence of his message. At 28, there is no time to waste.

Pre-Season or Parting of Ways?

Liverpool’s pre-season tour now carries an added layer of intrigue. For Iraola, it is a chance to stamp his identity on the squad. For Chiesa, it could be an audition, a final attempt to convince a new manager that he deserves a bigger role than the one he has just endured.

The training sessions, the friendlies, the tactical briefings in the US will all matter. Chiesa will want to see if Iraola’s system has a natural place for him, whether the style and structure can finally unlock the player Liverpool thought they were signing.

Yet around the player, the mood is already tilting towards goodbye. Romano reports that those close to Chiesa still see a departure as the most probable outcome, especially after he came close to leaving in January. This summer feels different. It feels decisive.

“Now could be the moment to say goodbye to Liverpool,” is the prevailing sense from his camp.

Unless Iraola offers more than vague encouragement — unless he can put real minutes and a defined role on the table — Chiesa’s path looks clear. A fresh challenge, a new club, and a chance to reclaim the status that once made him one of Europe’s most coveted wide forwards.

Liverpool will soon discover whether this pre-season tour marks the start of Chiesa’s revival on Merseyside, or the final chapter of a move that never truly caught fire.