Liverpool Summer Clear-Out: Chiesa Linked to Inter Milan

Liverpool’s summer clear-out has already sent Curtis Jones to San Siro. Inter Milan might not be finished shopping on Merseyside yet.

The Italian champions wrapped up a deal for Jones on Friday, a move worth up to £30 million for the 25-year-old midfielder. But the Liverpool academy product could be joined in Milan by a far more decorated teammate.

Inter circle Chiesa after Jones deal

Inter have turned their attention to Federico Chiesa, who has never truly settled since arriving at Anfield in 2024.

Liverpool paid around £12.5m to bring the Italy international in from Juventus, a low-risk fee for a player on sizeable wages of around £150,000 per week and with a major tournament pedigree. On paper, it looked a shrewd piece of business.

On the pitch, it never quite caught fire.

Chiesa can still call himself a Premier League champion, but his role in that title win has been peripheral. Used sparingly and often on the fringes of the squad, he has struggled to establish himself as a trusted option in a fiercely competitive forward line.

Preseason under new boss Andoni Iraola has done little to change that picture. The 28-year-old has not forced his way into the Spaniard’s plans and, as things stand, Liverpool appear open to a sale if their valuation is met.

Luis Henrique exit opens the door

The opportunity for Inter has emerged from their own reshuffle out wide.

Brazilian winger Luis Henrique is expected to join Roma in a deal worth around €25m, a move that would leave Cristian Chivu in need of a replacement in the attacking rotation.

Inter-focused journalist Fabio Bergomi has pointed directly at Chiesa as the man identified to fill that gap.

“Chiesa could be the one who goes in place of Luis Henrique, if Luis Henrique accepts Roma, as seems to be the case,” Bergomi told his YouTube audience. “So I would narrow it down to Chiesa, because perhaps in the end they close Chiesa and he is plausible.”

The message is clear: if Luis Henrique completes his switch to the capital, Inter are poised to move.

Injuries, doubts and a stalled Anfield career

Chiesa’s Liverpool spell has been defined less by explosive runs and more by stop-start frustration.

Last season, under Arne Slot, he managed only two Premier League starts and failed to convince in either. Those games were meant to be auditions; instead they underlined why he has remained on the fringes.

His absence from training in the build-up to Liverpool’s season opener against Newcastle has only fuelled speculation over his future. That gap, though, is understood to be down to another injury rather than any imminent transfer.

Even so, the pattern is hard to ignore. Limited minutes. Persistent fitness problems. A manager unconvinced. A wage packet that demands impact, not anonymity.

For Liverpool, a sale now would bank a profit on the initial fee and trim the wage bill. For Inter, it would mean a relatively low-cost gamble on a Euro 2020 winner who, at 28, should still have prime years ahead.

Jones is already through the door at San Siro. The question now is whether Inter push on and turn this into a full Liverpool double, with Chiesa trading Anfield’s uneasy limbo for a fresh start in Milan.