Carragher hails Liverpool ace who looked like an ‘£80m player’ v West Ham

Jamie Carragher was swooning over one Liverpool player who caught his eye during the Carabao Cup win over West Ham tonight.

The match at Anfield saw Federico Chiesa make his first start for the Reds after his £12.5m transfer from Juventus a month ago, and the Italian impressed with some slick touches before he was substituted in the 59th minute.

Speaking on co-commentary for Sky Sports shortly before half-time, the former LFC defender gushed: “Chiesa was an £80m player a few years ago. He showed a glimpse there.”

That quote from Carragher was in response to a brilliant moment of ingenuity from Chiesa as he casually nutmegged Vladimir Coufal in the West Ham penalty area.

That came a few minutes after a volleyed assist for Diogo Jota’s first-half equaliser, with the 26-year-old quickly endearing himself to the Liverpool faithful in just his third appearance for the club.

As per Sofascore, the Italy forward misplaced just two passes during his hour on the pitch, won two duels, played two key passes, created one ‘big chance’ and delivered one accurate cross.

That all ensured Chiesa a ‘standing ovation’ as he left the field of play, as noted by Nick Wright for Sky Sports, and while he didn’t have a goal to cap his first Reds start, he showed more than enough to suggest that the fee LFC paid for him will look like absolute chickenfeed in today’s market.

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