Liverpool is all set to complete the signing of Federico Chiesa from Juventus imminently. The Italian arrives following a contract stalemate in Turin, making his salary at Anfield a particular point of interest .
On the face of it, Liverpool has secured a bargain. Chiesa, who has already flown in on a private jet , will be arriving at Anfield for an initial fee of just $13m (£10m/€12m).
Sporting director Richard Hughes promised to be opportunistic this summer, and this deal fits that brief. And while another winger was not the top priority, it has long been thought that Arne Slot would like an extra option in the front line, with Chiesa set to provide natural cover for Mohamed Salah .
READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Mo Salah future, Federico Chiesa weekly salary, Bastoni interest
READ MORE: Michael Edwards' clever transfer clause as Barcelona still can't get Liverpool deal done
But every deal consists of a transfer fee and wages. A "bargain" cannot truly be declared without looking at both elements.
And from the outside looking in, there were some reasons to be concerned about Chiesa's personal terms. The fact that Juventus could not find an agreement was itself a warning sign, with the Serie A side unable to construct a deal which it felt was fair value for all parties.
Meanwhile, the fact that the stalemate has got this far means that Chiesa could have negotiated over a free transfer in six months' time. That would likely have allowed him to net a handsome signing-on fee, potentially skewing his demands this summer.
However, it seems Liverpool has managed to agree a pretty reasonable deal. Per La Gazzetta Dello Sport, via Paisley Gates , it will pay Chiesa $152k (£115k/€137k) per week.
Unlike the transfer fee, this does not seem wildly out of step with Chiesa's quality and status. However, that also means it is not an overpayment — it places the 26-year-old among a posse of secondary earners at the club, behind big hitters like Salah and Virgil van Dijk .
Publicly available contract figures must always be taken with a healthy pinch of salt. But according to Capology , Chiesa's weekly salary would only be the 12th-highest in the squad, narrowly behind what Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai earn.
The salary is a little more than three times less than what Salah makes. On the other hand, it's more than double what Luis Diaz reportedly takes home, with the Colombian still yet to sign an extension since arriving at Anfield.
Liverpool.com says: If this salary figure is accurate for Chiesa, then it does seem like a good deal. It's not astoundingly good value on the wages front, but coupled with the transfer fee, the whole package still looks cheap.
Moreover, Chiesa's wage is unlikely to unsettle anyone else in the squad, pitched as it is at a pretty fair level. The one potential exception is Diaz, for whom an extension needs to be a priority.
Most Popular
Comments / 0