‘Flawless’ Newcastle target Federico Chiesa is a keen physicist, inspired by Kaka and loved by Cristiano Ronaldo

Federico Chiesa once looked like he was going to be football’s next big thing after impressing for Juventus and Italy.

Unfortunately, injuries have limited the winger’s progress in recent times and a move away beckons.

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Reports in Italy suggest it’s Newcastle United that lead the race for the 25-year-old’s signature, although Liverpool are keen.

The Magpies are looking to build a squad capable of challenging on multiple fronts, and with Juventus looking for just 35million Euros, he could join international teammate and soon-to-be Toon player Sandro Tonali on Tyneside.

Chiesa was born in Genova, Italy, to his father, Enrico and mother, Francesca.

The forward was immediately thrown into football as a child as Enrico was a top Serie A player.

He was an Italian international and starred for Lazio, Parma and Fiorentina.

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So the pressure was immediately on his son, who was picked up by Fiorentina’s youth side.

From there, Chiesa rapidly developed and made his senior debut against his current side as an 18-year-old.

The forward, who can play across the front line, amassed over 150 appearances for the Florence-based team, contributing 59 direct goal involvements.

He even earned praise from 1982 World Cup winner, Bruno Conti.

Speaking to the Italian press about Chiesa, he said:

“He has all the quality to do well because he is a genuine talent.

“He can play on either flank depending on whether the coach asks him to get to the byline and cross or pull back inside and try for a shot.

“In order to do that, you need your basic technique to be flawless.”

While he was here, he established his reputation as one of the brightest talents around and was linked with a host of Premier League clubs, who admired his ball striking and work rate.

But Juventus won the race in 2020, signing Chiesa on a two-year loan deal made permanent last summer for £36m.

The Serie A giants immediately paired Chiesa with Cristiano Ronaldo.

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The duo played together 34 times and were directly involved in six goals, the joint-most with any of his Juventus teammates.

And there were even suggestions in Italy that Ronaldo wanted Manchester United to sign Chiesa after he completed his sensational return to Old Trafford.

But despite this, it was former AC Milan and Brazilian international Kaka who was Cheisa’s childhood hero.

When asked about his idols by the Italian press while at Fiorentina, he said: “Without a doubt Kaka.”

But in another life, Chiesa could have been a physicist as he is fascinated by the world and universe.

After helping Italy win Euro 2020, the forward revealed his passion away from football in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

He said: “I have two passions – one is football and the other is the universe!

“It’s always been like that. I think it’s all about the mystery part of it.

“Yes, we know a lot but we don’t know the full story and so there’s a point where we are there but we are not there and we have to discover a lot more.

“It’s that mystery that fascinates me. What is beyond the limit of the universe? It gets me thinking a lot.”

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It was at that Euros where Chiesa announced himself to the wider football audience.

He dazzled for Italy and helped Roberto Mancini’s men beat England at Wembley in the final.

In the last-16 tie against Austria, he came off the bench to score the opener in a 2-1 win before grabbing a stunning goal in a 1-1 draw against Spain in the quarter-finals.

But since then, injuries have disrupted his career in a big way.

From November 2021 onwards, Chiesa has been dealing with a variety of niggling problems, plus an ACL suffered in January 2022.

As a result, he has missed 55 Juve matches and several important games for Italy.

But despite this, he is still a top talent, and many Magpies fans would love to see him swap the black and white of Juventus for the black and white of Newcastle.