Liverpool block Federico Chiesa from pre-season tour as Arne Slot gets brutal

Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa has been left out of the travelling squad for this summer's pre-season tour of the Far East. The Italian joined Liverpool last summer for £12.5million and had been the only addition to the squad that Arne Slot inherited from predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

However, Chiesa struggled for minutes during his first season in England, making just 14 appearances across all competitions. In the Premier League, the ex-Juventus ace featured six times, managing a combined total of 104 minutes and being named in the starting XI only once.

It led to Chiesa being left out of the Italy squad, with rumours a return to Italy could be about to follow this summer, just 12 months after he put pen to paper on a Premier League switch. Now, with less than a month until the new Premier League season kicks off, even more doubts surrounding Chiesa's future have surfaced.

The Athletic are reporting that Chiesa hasn't been included in the Premier League champions' 29-player strong squad for their pre-season tour of Japan and Hong Kong. It's claimed by the outlet that the official reason is that Chiesa is suffering with a fitness problem and is being assessed in Merseyside instead.

However, it's believed that Chiesa did feature for Liverpool during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Stoke City this weekend, which the 20-time champions won 5-0. Chiesa even scored during the exhibition game at Kirby, with Darwin Nunez netting a hat-trick and teenager Rio Ngumoha rounding off the scoring.

Chiesa's omission comes ahead of Liverpool flying out to Asia on Sunday evening, with their first stop to come in Hong Kong. Slot and co. will begin their tour with a match against AC Milan next Saturday at the new 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium.

Chiesa's future could be influenced by the upcoming World Cup, given he was dropped from the squad during the stewardship of former Italy boss Luciano Spalletti. Commenting on his decision to leave Chiesa out of the March squad, he said: "Unfortunately, he has failed in England. He has only played 25 minutes [at that point in the Premier League]. He must be more consistent. He needs more defensive phase."

Elsewhere, Liverpool are believed to be closing in on a deal for Hugo Ekitike, after an agreement was reached with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. Liverpool are said to have agreed a deal worth £82million for the Frenchman, who netted 15 times in Germany's top flight last season.