Arne Slot makes Liverpool Federico Chiesa admission as Ryan Gravenberch sacrificed

Federico Chiesa was once again denied a start for Liverpool but Arne Slot appeared to have one thing on his mind when including him in the Reds’ squad over Ryan Gravenberch

Arne Slot revealed Ryan Gravenberch was injury free, despite his absence from Liverpool’s squad, as he instead looked to allow Federico Chiesa to earn a Premier League medal. The Italian winger is one appearance short of being automatically entitled to the honour following Liverpool’s title win.

Chiesa was only among the substitutes however, as Slot made the changes to his starting lineup that he promised after becoming a league champion in his first season with the club. The likes of Curtis Jones, Waturo Endo and Harvey Elliott started against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Slot made six changes.

Despite not offering Chiesa a start, Slot was adamant that his charge would get some minutes in the coming games. Asked about injuries amid Gravenberch’s absence, the Reds boss simply said someone had to miss out and he would look to get Chiesa over the line.

“He’s [Chiesa] on four games and I heard in this country you need five games to get a medal, so he will definitely be on the pitch in the next four games, if not all of the next four games,” he said.

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Liverpool will be handed 40 silver medals by the Premier League to dish out among their squad and staff after an impressive 2024/25. Any player who makes at least five Premier League appearances during the season becomes automatically entitled to one.

The Premier League champions have 21 members of their squad who currently fit that criteria. Chiesa remains one game short after making four substitute appearances but there remains time to hit that mark.

For now, that leaves 19 medals for the club to distribute. Additional medals can be sought however, but the consent of the Premier League Board is required. It will only be granted if more than 39 players have fulfilled the five Premier League appearances criteria.

Vitezslav Jaros and Jayden Danns are the other players to have made outings in the top flight this season and to remain short of the mark. With just one substitute appearance each they will not automatically qualify.

There will be opportunities in the final games, however. Slot revealed he would be assessing where players are at ahead of next season.

“It is not going to be a big change, there’s not going to be seven or eight new starters,” he said. “It’s going to be mostly the same and seeing how a few players do in a difficult game like Chelsea away and where they are in their development.”

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