Arne Slot assures Federico Chiesa 'definitely' has Liverpool future and explains how struggling winger can become Reds regular

The Italian winger, who joined the Reds last summer from Juventus, made just 13 appearances for the Premier League giants across all competitions and clocked only 403 minutes on the pitch. His debut campaign was hindered by injuries that kept him sidelined for nearly four months.

There have been speculations over Chiesa's future at Anfield, however, manager Slot has assured the player that he will be a part of his plans in the 2025-26 campaign. The Dutch coach also explained what the Italian has to do during the break to come back stronger for his second season at the Reds.

Speaking to reporters, the Premier League-winning coach said: "Does he have a future here? Yes, definitely he has. Next season, if he comes back completely fit, which he has hardly been for the first half-season, I can give him playing time in pre-season, so he can build himself up and then go even further.

"The moment he came in, he was, by a long time, not as fit as the other players were, and that doesn't help in the beginning. The other ones did so well, there was not a lot of reason for me to change, and then being in the squad becomes difficult if Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are there as well."

He added: "He is good enough to play for us, or a club of our standards. In terms of the quality he has, he would deserve more playing time at this football club, or the club he is playing for, as he has the quality to play for us."

The newly crowned English champions will be back in action on Monday as they take on Brighton away from home in their penultimate match of the season.