Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa is supposedly on the verge of completing a shock move to Milan, with the clubs having been “working quietly” to process the move.
The 22-year-old has been around the Serie A for much longer than his age suggests. Born in Genoa, Chiesa originally signed for the giovanili (“youth academy”) side aged 10, making his first-team debut less than ten years later during the 2016-17 season.
From then on, Chiesa has been a prominent member of Fiorentina’s first-team. He’s already made 150 first-team appearances for the club, scoring 33 and having become a regular member of the Azzurri as well, with 19 caps to his name.
Last season was his best showing to date though. In 34 Serie A appearances he managed 10 goals and after a summer of speculation, he looks to be nearing a move to Milan.
Stefano Pioli would beat the likes of Juventus, Inter, and Roma to the signing if they can pull it off – but where might Chiesa fit into Pioli’s plans?
Milan and Fiorentina only finished four places from each other in the final Serie A table of last season, but the Rossoneri amassed 17 more points than the Florence club – the top seven of Italy’s top-flight finished comfortably ahead of the pack in truth.
Fiorentina are falling behind and a player like Chiesa, they would only keep for so long. His role has become more attacking in recent seasons and last season being his best, he played the majority of it on the right of Fiorentina’s attack.
Whether it be as an all-out striker alongside another, just behind the striker on his own or with a midfield partner or even more centrally, Chiesa proved a versatile player, but one who looks more comfortable the further he is up the pitch.
Pioli then could use his in a number of ways – he likely has enough strikers for next season in Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Ante Rebic, but he’s somewhat like in numbers on the wings and behind the forwards.
Chiesa’s role would likely be behind the strikers, or even playing up top with Zlatan perhaps. Either way, the attacking play we saw from Milan after the break was impressive enough to see them claim a European spot, and it looks as though they’re on the brink of something special.
Milan’s marquee signing of the summer was Sandro Tonali. The Brescia man joined after a summer of speculation and Chiesa could yet be another young and promising Azzurri to want in on Pioli’s Milan project.
The club is seemingly keen on building a more sustainable Milan than in previous seasons, which is perhaps why Pioli is still in the job after his first half-season at the club.
They’re recruiting now with more scope to the future, as seen with the deals for Tonali and potentially Chiesa, and these young players’ faith in Pioli and Milan shows that they themselves are excited by the sound of Milan’s future.
If Milan could pull off the signing of Chiesa seemingly out of nowhere and beat some stern Italian competition to it, then it would say a great deal about the club and where they’re heading. Definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming days, and one that would excite Milan fans for sure.