Liverpool have agreed a deal with Juventus for winger Federico Chiesa, the club confirmed on Thursday.
The deal, involving a reported €13 million ($14.5m) fee initially, will see Chiesa join Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz in an already talented frontline on Merseyside.
“I’m so happy to be a Liverpool player,” Chiesa told Liverpool’s website.
“When [sporting director] Richard Hughes called me and he said, ‘Do you want to join Liverpool?’ — and the coach called me — I said yes immediately because I know the history of this club, I know what it represents to the fans.
“I’m so happy and I can’t wait to get started.”
The 26-year-old had been close to a transfer to Barcelona for a similar fee earlier this month, but the LaLiga side have been unable to structure a deal amid the stringent salary cap rules that saw Dani Olmo miss their first two league games as they struggled to register their star signing.
Chiesa, whose contract at Juventus expires at the end of this season, has been hit by a series of injuries, including a 10-month cruciate ligament lay-off, since helping Roberto Mancini’s Italy team to success in Euro 2020.
Thiago Motta, who replaced Massimiliano Allegri as Juventus’ head coach for this season, had told Chiesa he was free to leave the club earlier in the transfer window as he was not part of the club’s plans for 2024-25.
He becomes Arne Slot’s second signing for Liverpool after Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joined on Tuesday for a fee of €40 million.
The 23-year-old, who helped Georgia reach the round of 16 during their first appearance at a major tournament at Euro 2024, will remain with Valencia until the end of this season before moving to Anfield next summer.
Information from ESPN’s Mark Ogden contributed to this report.
