Arne Slot admits he won't be handing a full debut to Federico Chiesa when Liverpool are entertained by AC Milan
The Reds boss indicated the Italy international could be in line for his first minutes off the bench in the San Siro.
Chiesa has yet to feature since making a £12m move from Juventus in the final days of last month's transfer window and was building up his fitness with the club's Under-21 contingent during the international break
Slot conceded the 26-year-old is still getting up to full speed and said it would represent a major surprise if Chiesa was given the nod up top against the Rossoneri in Italy.
Slot;
Why we brought him and what we like about him? I always like to bring in quality players and I believe he is a quality player,"
‘He combines that quality with an enormous work rate and the culture of this club, this team is working really hard when we don't have the ball and I think he brings that to his game in combinations with scoring goals and combinations with playing several positions up front.’
‘He is with us as part of the team selection for the first time and since I said it is the first time he is here, it would be a big surprise for him and everyone if he starts tomorrow.
"So I don't think you should expect him to start but he will make some minutes for the first time tomorrow, if we need him and that is something we'll see tomorrow. But for the first time with us, I don't expect him to start with us.
"He's had for some time on his own for a long time now and has been training with us for a few weeks and had some training time. So it is too early to play 90 minutes but hopefully some minutes in the upcoming fixtures."
Slot also said he had no fitness concerns about Alexis Mac Allister after his withdrawal in the second half of Saturday's shock 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest
On Mac Allister, Slot added:
"I only have important players, so all 23 for this Milan game are important to me and to the club. I took Mac Allister off around 60 minutes against Nottingham Forest, that had a lot to do with him not playing the full 90 with Argentina and being out for a few days with an injury and not playing.
“So that had a bit to do with rotation. I think he can play 60 or 90 minutes tomorrow and we will see the decision I make tomorrow. He is like the other 22, an important player for us."
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