Liverpool star tipped for transfer after being dropped for FA Cup clash against Accrington Stanley

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Arne Slot has fuelled speculation that Federico Chiesa will leave Liverpool in January after benching him for their FA Cup clash against Accrington Stanley.

Chiesa was the only player to join Liverpool in Slot’s first summer at Anfield, moving from Juventus in a deal worth up to £12.5million.

But the attacking midfielder has hardly featured for his new club, making just four appearances to date – only one of them a start – and playing just 18 minutes in the Premier League.

This can be partly attributed to a lengthy muscle injury but since his return to training last month he’s featured just once, with Slot seemingly not rating the 27-year-old, even as an impact sub.

As a result, he has been linked with a return to his native Italy, with some reports suggesting Liverpool could use him in a swap deal for Napoli’s highly-rated winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Slot has played down any transfer rumours, but on Saturday he gave another strong indication that Chiesa’s time at Anfield maybe coming to an end.

The Dutch manager did not even start Chiesa in the FA Cup clash against lowly Accrington Stanley, which surely would have provided the player with crucial minutes as he tries to recover some fitness and form.

That’s despite several over big names starting, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diojo Jota.

Instead of Chiesa, 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha has been handed his debut in attack, becoming the youngest player in Liverpool history.

Explaining his starting XI, Slot told ITV: ‘If you look at the players we start, most of them haven’t played that much recently so it’s also an opportunity for them to get some playing time again and there’s not many options to give them playing time.

‘It’s always special if a young player makes his debut, there’s a smile on my face! He [Ngumoha] is a young kid still.

‘He’s trained mostly with the U21s, sometimes with us and when he’s with us he’s not afraid to do what he’s good at which is taking on one-v-ones and I hope he will get the chance to show his qualities today.’

It remains to been whether Chiesa will leave this January, while Liverpool are also dealing with the potential exits of Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

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