Liverpool star’s £8 million annual wage major 'obstacle' in exit as European giants monitor situation

Andoni Iraola has had to use his full squad so far this campaign as the club has so far taken part in three competitions.

Liverpool have made a perfect start to their Champions League campaign; they appear to be growing in the Premier League, while they progressed past Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup.

While there appears to be a positive feel around Anfield under the guidance of the Spaniard, there is one player who may be itching to leave - yet his wages are proving to be a major problem.

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Liverpool star’s £8 million annual wage major ‘obstacle’ in Anfield exit

Iraola has now been at Liverpool for several months and will have had the time to assess all his options, so there will be several players who know they will not be part of his plans.

Liverpool have several attacking options, with this being strengthened in the summer with the addition of France international Bradley Barcola from PSG.

This addition means that Italian international Federico Chiesa has dropped further down the pecking order, especially after the emergence of Rio Ngumoha as a first-team regular, while Víctor Muñoz is quickly becoming a fan favourite after he made the move to Anfield this summer.

Chiesa may now be weighing up his options as he appears to once again be out in the cold after he struggled for regular minutes under Arne Slot.

Several major Italian clubs are considering bringing the attacker back to Serie A, including Lazio, Inter Milan, and Atalanta.

Yet, as reported by Spanish outlet Fichajes, his wages are proving to be a major ‘obstacle’ to him making a return to Italy. According to Capology, Chiesa earns £160,000 per week, or around £8.3 million per year.

Should he be willing to take a pay cut, he would have a pick of clubs looking to sign him, but if he is happy collecting his wage and being part of the Anfield setup in his role currently, then he may opt to see out his contract before making a move.

Chiesa was highly coveted after his incredible performance in helping Italy win the 2020 European Championship, as he was named in the ‘Team of the Tournament’, though suffered a serious knee injury while at Juventus and spent large parts of the rest of his time in Italy attempting to get back to his best.

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Andoni Iraola’s use of Federico Chiesa under the spotlight

The 28-year-old is a European Championship winner, a 51-cap Italy international, and a two-time Coppa Italia winner with Juventus.

Chiesa is clearly a capable operator; however, several serious long-term injuries have seemingly had a detrimental impact on his career.

Despite this CV, and having featured as an unorthodox striker previously in his career, Iraola did not turn to him during the short-term injury to Alexander Isak.

The Spaniard turned to the youthful Lewis Koumas for the Manchester City clash before the trip to LASK in the Champions League.

Koumas performed excellently in both fixtures, but this may have been the final nail in the coffin for Chiesa, who will have been disappointed not to have been given a chance to prove he could be an asset in a striker role for Liverpool.

It may have been enough of a message from Iraola about the future the Italian has at the club.