Italy coach Luciano Spalletti has explained the decision of new Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa not to accept an invitation to link up with the national team this month
Chiesa, who moved to the Reds from Juventus for an initial £10million last week, was not named in Italy's squad
The 26-year-old hasn't played a minute since the Azzurri's Euro 2024 exit at the round of 16 stage to Switzerland on June 29
Chiesa, though, was invited to join the latest Italy squad as a non-playing member, only for the player to decline the invitation and instead prioritise building his fitness at Liverpool.
Spalletti
We spoke with Chiesa and made a balanced assessment,"
"I would have brought him as an additional player but not have him participate in the two matches.”
"He told me that he had spoken with his new club and needed to do specific preparation to work with them.
"There was a need to develop a strong, hard training period, which must adapt to the new working methods."
Chiesa's move has some echoes of Ryan Gravenberch 12 months previous, when the midfielder declined an invitation to play for Holland under-21s
Gravenberch was subsequently overlooked for a number of senior Dutch squads before being welcomed back into the fold and was in their 26-man party for the European Championships
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