(Reuters) – Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he was excited about the arrival of versatile attacker Federico Chiesa but would be careful to introduce the 26-year-old into action gradually.
Chiesa, who joined from Juventus on Thursday in a deal worth 12 million euros ($13.30 million) plus three million in add-ons, was unlikely to feature when Liverpool visit Manchester United on Sunday, Slot told reporters.
“He works really hard, on and off the pitch, to try to get the best out of him, and he combines this with scoring goals,” Slot said on Friday. “Really aggressive without the ball… can play in so many positions.
“We should take care of him in the beginning because he didn’t train with the team in the last two weeks… we will build him up in the right way and hopefully we can see his quality in the near future.”
Slot played down concerns about the Italian’s injuries which led to him being sidelined several times last season.
“It’s true that he had a long-term injury with his (anterior cruciate ligament) but, for the rest, I don’t think he had big injuries,” Slot said.
“Minor injuries like every other player maybe. But again, we have a lot of trust in our support staff.”
Slot said he was looking forward to visiting Old Trafford, where he lost 4-0 with AZ Alkmaar in 2019.
“Many of these players have played there before so I don’t think I have to prepare them for the 75,000 (spectators); they’ve been used to this,” Slot said.
“I have prepared them in the best possible way for what they can expect because United play, in my opinion, a bit different than the last two seasons.”
Liverpool have won both their Premier League matches so far, while United lost at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
