To say Federico Chiesa has found minutes hard to come by in his first Liverpool season would be a gross understatement. The former Juventus star has been given only 33 of them in the Premier League, and his only three starts since completing a £12.5million move to Merseyside have come in cup competitions.

It was a familiar story for him on Sunday, as Liverpool manager Arne Slot left him untouched on the substitutes' bench for the duration of the 2-1 win over West Ham. Even when the Reds needed something after Andy Robertson's own goal levelled the scores in the 86th minute, Slot stuck with what he had, and Virgil van Dijk popped up with the winner soon afterwards.

But that didn't stop Chiesa from roaring on his team-mates. The Italian was spotted venting his fury at virtually every refereeing decision which went against Liverpool, with his anger clearly visible from the bench.

Seeing a star so animated despite not playing is a rare occurrence, and it says a lot about Chiesa as a competitor and a team player.

Speaking in January after being given a rare 90-minute outing in the Champions League, the 27-year-old, whose CV includes 51 caps for Italy, a Euro 2020 title and three Italian cups, insisted he was just happy to be soaking in the experience of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"Since I joined Liverpool I’ve wanted to prove myself," he said. "We have a great team and it’s hard to play, but that’s normal, because I want to be here, I want to play for Liverpool, I want to challenge myself. I’m playing with great players, I’m in a great team. There’s a great atmosphere, I’m enjoying myself here.

"Of course, I didn’t get the chance to play for many reasons. I’m enjoying being at the club, because Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and the fanbase is just amazing. Playing at Anfield gives me shivers."

Chiesa may not even be at Anfield next season amid reports that he could return to the familiarity of Serie A. Liverpool are already well-stocked for wingers, particularly in the wake of Mohamed Salah renewing his contract.

Slot also has Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott to call upon, not to mention whoever sporting director Richard Hughes buys in the summer window, which promises to be a big one for the Reds.