Richard Hughes’ latest piece of business could bring a major boost for Arne Slot’s side in the Champions League. 

After a yearlong hiatus, Liverpool have finally returned to where they belong among Europe’s elites.

Upon their return though, the Champions League has taken on a strange new format – something the entire footballing world needs to adjust to.

Instead of six group-games, the Reds will now play eight matches in a league phase. This will see Liverpool taken on Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, Girona, Bologna, RB Leipzig, PSV Eindhoven and Lille.

Liverpool will aim to finish in the top eight in the 36-team league to avoid a play off qualifier to get into the round of 16.

And to do that, Slot will need to use all of his squad players. Which is why he will be delighted with Hughes’ piece of business this summer.

Liverpool’s Chiesa Boost

One of the most interesting aspects of the draw will have been the fact that Liverpool are taking on two Italian sides, AC Milan at the San Siro and Bologna at Anfield.

Chiesa will be very familiar with both opponents. In total, he has faced Bologna and AC Milan a combined 24 times in his career.

He also has a very good record against the two sides, which will be a major boost for Slot.

Federico Chiesa vs AC Milan

Chiesa has faced AC Milan 13 times, he’s won four of those games, drawn four and lost five times.

In total, he’s scored three goals and registered four assists in those 13 appearances.

Interestingly, since Liverpool will be playing at the San Siro, it’s Chiesa’s record against Milan at the hallowed Italian stadium that stands out.

He’s played six games vs AC Milan at the San Siro and made six goal contributions, scoring twice and registering four assists in a total of 410 minutes.

That means Chiesa has averaged a goal or assist 68 minutes while playing against AC Milan at the San Siro in his career so far.

If he can replicate that kind of form in Liverpool colours when the Reds face the Italians later this year, Slot will have a major weapon to unleash.

Chiesa vs Bologna

Out of teams Chiesa has faced more than ten times in his career, Bologna are the only side he has never tasted defeat against.

Chiesa has played against Bologna 11 times winning five and drawing six of the encounters.

Encouragingly, Chiesa has also scored more goals against Bologna than any other opponent, with seven in total.

That includes his only Serie A hat-trick to date back in 2020 during Fiorentina’s 4-0 victory over Liverpool’s Champions League opponent.

Having played 829 minutes, he’s averaged a goal contribution against Bologna every 118 minutes.

Those are very encouraging numbers and yet more proof Liverpool could not have been selected better Italian sides to play against for Chiesa.

Why Chiesa is a Masterstroke by Hughes

There has been so much said about Chiesa’s low transfer fee, I hesitate to repeat all of it but I can only echo the sentiments.

For an initial £10m fee, Chiesa is the kind of bargain you grab with both hands. Especially based on the underlying numbers he has been posting for Juventus and the Italian national team over the course of the last couple of seasons.

Post-ACL injury he will still arrive at the club with the fourth highest top-speed (36.2km/h) among the Liverpool squad – with Dominik Szoboszlai recording the highest last season (36.7km/h).

But there was basically nothing separating them at the Euros, with Chiesa clocking in a top-speed of 34.4km/h and Szoboszlai 34.5km/h.

On top of that, the data suggests that Chiesa should have ended the season with close to eight assists rather than the mere three he recorded. As per Wyscout, he ranked in second for expected assists per 90 (0.26) in the Serie A last season.

Had his teammates put away the chances he created, Chiesa could have been arriving at Liverpool with 18 goal contributions in all competitions last season – and Juventus would probably have quoted the Reds with a similar valuation that they offered him to the club for last season which was around £60m.

Chiesa’s also an effective dribbler. Among the players who averaged at least seven dribbles per 90 in the Serie A last season Chiesa ranked third for success rate.

Only Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (59.5 percent) and Rafael Leao (57.3 percent) had a better success rate than him (51.1 percent).

If he can replicate those numbers at Liverpool, he should give Slot’s side a new dimension. Last season, Luis Diaz was the player who averaged the highest volume of dribbles for the Reds, but he only managed five per 90 minutes.

Based on those numbers alone, Chiesa is a £30-40m player, at least in today’s market.

Especially, when you add in his experience, something that will be very useful for Liverpool as they embark on their new Champions League adventure.