Fiorentina news - November

[Neil@Fiorentina]

FIORENTINA FANZONE

What’s going on at Fiorentina during pre-season I hear you ask? Plenty, is the answer. Let’s have a look at some of the changes going on around the club.

Manager stays!

Despite rumours of an approach by both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, manager Kirby has committed himself to the club. ‘’I’m going no-where, I have unfinished business with the club, and until we are back where we belong in the Champions League it doesn’t matter who becomes available, or the wages I’m offered. This is where I belong.’’ Great news for the fans, or is it? If you read between the lines of the statement, it appears the manager may not be planning to stay any longer than it takes to get into the top eight.

Youths called up!

Whilst manager Kirby has been vocal in his dislike of the youth approach to building a side, mainly due to the number of free abs being given. He has at least decided to call up some of the current crop of youth academy players. Let’s take a look at who they are, and what prospects they have with the club.

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The Turkish defender Zan has been told he must clean the changing rooms, and act as ball boy when he is not playing, which is likely to be his main roles for the club, bar the minimum minutes he needs to achieve, probably in cup games.

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Ukrainian midfielder Tymoschuk may make more of an appearance in the first team, but not a lot. Whilst he is a slight upgrade on the squaddie Chiquinho who will head off abroad. His lack of secondary skills mean than he doesn’t have a long term future with the club, other than a late sub for tiring legs perhaps.

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Much like Zan, Licata is unlikely to play many minutes for the club this season, bar injuries and late substitute appearance to make his minutes.

Rashford signs!

In the biggest deal of pre-season for the club so far, Marcus Rashford has announced he will be leaving Liverpool and signing for Fiorentina. Rashford is just the kind of player the boss has been looking for. He is almost a 24 rated striker, and has great passing.

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It is believed a hefty sum was paid to tempt Rash to Italy, with rumours a fee of 30m, striker Guedes, and a defensive swap of Mancini for veteran Alaba. ‘’If you want one of the best, you have to pay a premium’’ is what manager Kirby was quoted was saying. It is unknown how long Rashford will stay however, as he will no doubt be a victim of the manager’s anti Manchester united bias.

Araujo signs!

Multi-talented Uruguayan defender signs from Burnley, in a player plus cash deal. In the move to bring in higher shooting defenders, Fiorentina has agreed to pay Burnley 18m and defender Kalulu to bring the classy defender to the club.

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Kostic signs!

Another classy defender joins the club, this time in a cash plus squaddie deal with Leeds. Whilst he is on the older side, the Serbian multi-skilled defender is an improvement on Karsdorp, who will be sold to help fund the deal.

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There are rumours of other deals in the pipeline, with representatives of Aston Villa and Dortmund being seen at the club in recent days, but there is nothing else that has been announced as yet, other than the imminent departure of some squad players to pastures news.

It is likely Karsdorp, Chiquinho, and Joselu will all be sold to the league to help fund an hopeful auction bid, however there is still plenty of time before the window opens, so alternate plans may turn up between now and then.

Captain?

The captain for the new season hasn’t been announced as yet, and though Militao did a fantastic job in the second half of last season, it is likely he will be replaced this season. Early contenders include striker Guirassy and defender Kostic.


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[Neil@Fiorentina]

FIORENTINA FANZONE

Transfer rumour update

Fiorentina fans have been getting excited this week, after hearing rumour after rumour of a top striker joining the club. It’s no surprise that Rashford may be leaving the club after a brief stay, but just who might be coming in through the door to replace him? Let’s have a look at some of the names that have been linked to the club.

Luis Diaz

An early rumour, that has gone cold somewhat. The fans would surely love to see Diaz return after his goal scoring exploits for the club at the start of last season. However, he is now 30, and perhaps doesn’t fit the criteria of a passing striker that the manager appears to now be looking for. Add in that Man Utd boss Outten is a tight git, the odds appear against Diaz returning.

Odds 15-1

Lautaro Martinez

They have been rumours before that the Fiorentina boss is a fan off the Argentinian striker. He is however not of the same quality as Rashford, and the rumours have it that a 2 for 2 deal has been discussed. There have been no updates in recent days, with the Villa boss taking some time out for other matters currently.

Odds 10-1

Domenico Berardi

Hot news from yesterday was that Berardi was seen visiting the stadium, and looking at houses in the area. Sure, he’s Italian anyway, but could he be on the manager’s radar? It is believed enquiries have been made before, and maybe this time there is some substance to the rumours. A deal with Chelsea will no doubt prove difficult in terms of matching valuations, but watch this space.

Odds 2-1

Kylian Mbappe’

Really?! Ok, this one may be a bit of dream, but there have been fresh rumours circulating that discussions have taken place about Mbappe’s availability, which has sent the fans into delirium. Is it just a pipe dream, or could one of the best strikers in the world be possibly be becoming a purple? PSG are unlikely to let him go, but maybe, just maybe.

Odds 20-1

Stay tuned for further updates on the who might be coming to Fiorentina saga…

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[Neil@Fiorentina]

FIORENTINA FANZONE

Berardi signs!

After a week of intense speculation, and a revolving door of agents and managers coming and going from Fiorentina this week, we can finally confirm who the new striker for the club is….

Domenico Berardi!

The multi-talented Italian has long been admired by manager Kirby, with his goal scoring ability combined with an amazing array of passing. He is a unique blend of poacher and assist maker, and with the added bonus of being a rare Italian player to please the fans.

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There are rumours that along with a massive wage, he will also be given the captain’s arm band, a mansion in the hills, and as much cocaine as he can snort.

So, this means of course that Marcus Rashford’s stay with the club is mercifully short, leaving before a ball has even been kicked in pre-season. This is no surprise to anyone, even him. Rashford joins Chelsea in a Berardi plus cash deal. The negotiation was long and drawn out, with bids increasing in small increments, as both managers refused to budge. There was talk of a 2 for 2 deal with Andy Robertson also possibly joining the Italians, but this fizzled out with Kirby demanding cash.

Kirby had the following to say ‘’I’m delighted to finally have got our man, I’m sure Berardi is just the man we need to take us to the next level. It’s been a busy week dealing with the offers coming in, and to be honest, I’m looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet!’’

Rashford apparently drew in bids from around the world, with possible multiplayer bids discussed with the likes of Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid, even a swap deal with Mbappe! None of these came to fruition however, and other bids were deemed inferior to the eventual winner.

Bonanza opens!

We will finally get to see who is going where, as the transfer window has officially opened. We can look forward to the appearance of Kostic, Araujo and Alaba in defence as well as the Berardi deal. Is that going to be the end of Fiorentina’s business though? Possibly, as boss Kirby has stated that he wants a decent war chest for the auction.

Woke? Yes, we are!

Fiorentina FC have decided to invest funds in promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the club. This goes through all levels of the club, with a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and intolerance. Whilst other teams and managers are stuck in their dinosaur ways, the club are proud to announce they will lead the way in Italy with a positive, forward-thinking attitude. We do however, still hate youths

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[Neil@Fiorentina]

FIORENTINA FANZONE

More new signings announced

In what had been a reasonably quiet off season for Fiorentina after last season, things seem to be moving at last on the transfer front, as two more new signings were announced today. This brings the changes to the first team to six players out of the eleven. Not quite the almost full team of last year but there is still time.

Manager Kirby had the following to say ‘’I was a little reluctant to push through deals at first, given our good end to last season, but if you stand still you get left behind. Some players we have sold served us very well, and it was hard to see them go, but hopefully the new lads can make themselves heroes as well. It was also very tempting to sit on a cash sum and hope for the best in the auction, but when I saw how many clubs had more money than us, It became clear we were unlikely to get the kind of players that we need to sign. Instead we will focus on improving the team we have, and maybe bringing in another player to add more back up to the first eleven.’’

So who are the new signings?

Lautaro Martinez, Argentinian striker, prima donna, and user of much hair gel. He is an improvement on the departing Guirassy in terms of his age, passing and abs. Let’s hope he can form a clinical partnership with the other new striker signing Berardi, in an all new front line for next season.

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Stanislav Lobotka, is welcomed back to the club, after being one of the first high rated players to sign on. He is a top class defensive midfielder, and will provide much higher passing skills than the current midfield line up. The fans will be devastated to see Sanches go, who many credited for the turn around in fortunes for the club last season. However, the manager decided that having a high rated passer in the centre of the pitch was important.

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So, is that it in terms of transfers before the bonanza is over? Possibly, though the club have advertised Kudus, Militao and Araujo recently, so we will see whether all of the players remain with the club by the time of the first match.

The club also signed a cheap player from abroad to fill in at midfield if things get very desperate in terms of injuries and suspensions. £3.5m the fee to warm the bench.

There are rumours that the club have made enquires about 3 or 4 players, but the manager remained tight lipped when pressed, so as not to alert other potential suitors. One thing is for sure, they will not be youths! The whole market seems to have been turned upside down in the last season, due to the introduction of the youth academy, and it may be the manager looks for a fresh challenge should the youth emphasis continue.

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