Federico Chiesa Faces A Critical 12 Months To Fulfil His Potential

Almost two years from his last international goal, Federico Chiesa finally ended the drought against The Netherlands. In the UEFA
EFA
Nations League third-place playoff, the second time Italy has played in and won that particular fixture, Chiesa scored the third for Roberto Mancini’s side in a 3-2 win.

Darting into the ocean of space down the left-hand side of pitch in Enschede, Chiesa was played through by Sassuolo’s Davide Frattesi with a smart first-time pass on the counter. Chiesa retrieved the ball and, faced with Virgil van Dijk, executed a razor-sharp stepover-cum-shimmy, bamboozling Van Dijk in the process, before angling a shot with his left foot into the bottom corner of the net.

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It wasn’t the cleanest of strikes, it trickled and bounced into the goal, but it represented Chiesa’s first goal for Italy since September 2021. Then, he scored in a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in Florence and was on the verge of becoming one of the best wingers in the world on the back of his showing at Euro 2020. Now, things are very different.

It’s taken Chiesa a long time to find his groove. He still looks a yard off the player he was prior to his ACL injury against Roma in January 2022. His introduction back into first team football at Juventus was handled with the utmost care by the club. He was gently phased in; mostly with substitute appearances and then with the odd start.

Chiesa started only six league games in 2022/23 and, understandably, looked a long way off the player who lit up Euro 2020. His first start didn’t arrive until 5-1 demolition against Napoli in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at the beginning of the year. Inexplicably, Max Allegri utilised him as a right wing-back, a position Chiesa had never previously played in. The end result was Chiesa following his instinct in pushing forward much more than thinking about his defensive duties, and was taken apart by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

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Chiesa’s form improved towards the tail end of the season, ending with two goals and five assists in Serie A. However, reports have circulated around Italy that he isn’t happy playing under Allegri. Chiesa, along with Dusan Vlahovic, have supposedly been unimpressed with Allegri’s reactionary tactics and willingness to cede control of the ball to lesser teams. Moreover, Allegri’s tactics does little to extract the most out of both players. Much of Chiesa’s energy was expended in his own half, tracking back and worrying about the opposition, while Vlahovic was completely isolated with service at a premium.

It was reported that both were unhappy under Allegri, and therefore wouldn’t rule out a possible summer departure. This, combined with the fact that Juve need to cut costs and both represent two of the club’s brightest stars, means it shouldn’t be ruled out that one of the two leave.

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Furthermore, Chiesa’s situation is a little trickier, considering his contract expires in the summer of 2025 and La Gazzetta dello Sport states that Chiesa, who earns around €5m-per-season, wants a bump in wages should he sign an extension to become the club’s highest paid earner.

Juve, no doubt with one eye on a balance sheet that posted losses of €254m ($277m) for 2021-22 (this will be significantly less for 2022-23, but it’s likely to still be heavy), aren’t in a position to throw money around for bumper contracts. This was one of the reasons why Paulo Dybala was allowed to leave last summer, and there is a possibility that it could happen again with Chiesa, even if it is somewhat remote.

If it came down to it, Juve would likely move Chiesa on this or next summer as opposed to letting him leave for free. Now 25, Chiesa is no longer ‘one for the future’, and the time has arrived to demonstrate his desire to be viewed as one of the leaders of this iteration of Juve.

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Despite a lacklustre season at club level, his goal against The Netherlands proves there’s still a player in Chiesa.