Despite skepticism from the dumbest corners of the internet, Fiorentina has signed Parma striker Mateo Pellegrino on loan. According to Nicolò Schira, it’s a loan with an obligation that will kick in on 2 February (likely triggered by appearances) and will total €25 million, possibly with a sell-on percentage. The Argentine striker will sign through 2031. In a corresponding move, Roberto Piccoli’s departed for Bologna on loan, as previously discussed. Schira has this one as a loan as well, although
Bologna’s Serie A survival will trigger an €18 million permanent transfer, leaving the Viola with a 10% sell-on.
This whirling carousel is enough to leave anyone’s head spinning a bit but when the dust settles, Fiorentina has swapped out its backup striker at a cost of €7 million in transfer fees while reducing the wage bill significantly; Piccol’s salary was €3.7 million in Florence and while nobody’s published that number for Pellegrino, it was under €1.2 million last year, per Capology.
I still feel bad for Piccoli. He joined Serie A’s most dysfunctional team but one that paradoxically had the league’s best striker. Considering the club-record transfer fee, he was doomed from the start. He was genuinely awful, of course, but he was also put in an impossible position. My guess is that he’ll bounce back at Bologna and I wish him well but his abject showing last time out meant the Viola fans had fully turned on him and there’s just no coming back from that. As Daniele Pradè’s most visible mistake, Bobby Smalls likely knew that shifting him was Fabio Paratici’s top priority.
Pellegrino, meanwhile, could be the player we’d hoped Piccoli was. The 24-year-old has some obvious talent (i.e. he’s huge) and should offer a perfect Plan B when Fiorentina’s chasing games as a target man who can win in the air. He won’t replicate Moise Kean’s sheer speed, obviously, but hopefully he’ll offer some tactical flexibility and a competent presence up front if/when the Moose is unavailable. Maybe they can play together—a throwback 4-4-2 could be interesting—but that wouldn’t maximize the rest of the roster so my assumption is that Pellegrino is purely the backup.
It’s a huge sum for someone who won’t start more than a handful of games if things go according to plan this year, verging on a club record fee. Taken in conjunction with Piccoli’s departure, though, it’s a necessary upgrade to a problem spot on the roster. If Pellegrino accepts his role as understudy, he could prove critical both this year and next if Fiorentina returns to Europe, where he’d likely play a much larger role. It’s a gamble for everyone but, if it hits, the payout could be quite nice indeed.
Bienvenido, Mateo, e arrivaderci, Roberto.
