Despite the World Cup, the non-stop churn throughout the club, and, you know, *vague gesture at the universe*, Fiorentina has begun preseason training at the RBCVPetc. Some of the sessions will be open to the public but for now, it’s just Fabio Grosso and his staff getting to know the players on a personal level while everybody focuses on getting their fitness up after summer vacation and saging the halls of the training center to remove any traces of last year’s abomination.
Of particular interest
is the preseason roster. Fabio Paratici’s fingerprints are already visible in this group of players but he’s going to stay busy throughout the transfer window as he shuffles players in and out. Given the number of balls he’s got in the air right now, it’s probably pointless to draw too many conclusions about what the roster will look like on 2 September. That won’t stop me from trying, though. First of all, here’s the roster.
Goalkeepers
-Oliver Christensen
-David de Gea
-Gianmaria Fei†
-Luca Lezzerini
Defenders
-Luis Balbo
-Pietro Comuzzo
-Dodô
-Radu Drǎgușin*
-Niccolò Fortini
-Federico Melani†
-Matías Moreno
-Fabio Parisi
-Alessandro Perrotti†
-CB Marin Pongračić (will arrive late due to World Cup)
-Luca Ranieri
-Viery*
Midfielders
-Arthur Atta*
-Samuel Beldenti*†
-Marco Brescianini
-Lapo Deli†
-Giovanni Fabbian
-Nicolò Fagioli
-Rolando Mandragora
-Cher Ndour
-Simon Sohm
Forwards
-Federico Croci†
-Fortune Egharevba*†
-Albert Guðmundsson
-Moise Kean
-Roberto Piccoli
-Antonio Pirrò†
Absent
-CB Eman Košpo†
-CB Nicolás Valentini
-LB Robin Gosens
-CM Alessandro Bianco
-CM Jonas Harder
-CM Jacopo Fazzini
-CM Amir Richardson
-AM Antonín Barák
-LW Daniel Caprini
-LW Riccardo Sottil
-CF Riccardo Braschi
-CF M’Bala Nzola
* new signing
† youth player
Let’s start with the guys who are here and let’s start with the good news. Parisi is with the group and training separately, which makes me think his rehab from the ACL injury he picked up in May against Juventus is healing according to plan. I wouldn’t expect Fabi back before Halloween but this is still good news. Kean’s also in so hopefully he’s over the shin/ankle injury that scuppered him last time out too.
Next, let’s talk about some of the youngsters. Balbo’s got the best chance to grab a spot; with Gosens exiled and Parisi injured, there’s a role for him if he can perform in preseason (and maybe even if he’s subpar). I don’t think any of the other kids are quite ready. I wouldn’t be shocked if a couple of them popped in the friendlies because that’s what happens every summer (my money’s on Pirrò) but it doesn’t seem like Grosso and Paratici are expecting any of them to contribute this year.
Paratici seems to have evaluated most of the players so there should be less drama about who can win a place in the squad this summer. Ranieri and Sohm are the only guys whose futures might rely on their performances in camp. The fact that the first 2 signings of the Grosso era were centerbacks makes me wonder about Luha’s fate, although I also wonder if he might spend some time at leftback if Balbo isn’t ready. Sohm’s the wildcard. He’ll probably have to leapfrog Mandragora in the hierarchy to stick. I don’t think he fits what Grosso’s Sassuolo midfield did but he could offer a Plan B in the middle.
It’s hardly a surprise but this roster confirms how much work Fiorentina needs on the forwards. Right now, the starting wingers are Guðmundsson and Fortini, maybe? It’d be a shock if either was on the roster come opening day, much less playing significant minutes. I like that Paratici’s focusing on the spine of the team first but he needs to sign a minimum of 3 wingers.
Finally, let’s run through the absences. Gosens is obviously the saddest, especially since he’s reportedly open to decreasing his salary to stay in Florence. Braschi and Caprini are probably only absent because their loan negotiations are at an advanced stage; both are talented youngsters in need of minutes to continue developing. Harder’s reportedly putting the finishing touches on a move to Basel. Košpo’s absence is surprising; he left Barcelona in search of first team minutes but played exclusively with the Primavera last year, and if Melani’s jumped past him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he moved on.
The other absentees are the sad flotsam of the Daniele Pradè era. They range from the sympathetic (Barák’s scary illness effectively ended his Viola career) to the unfortunate preterite (Sottil, Bianco) to the mystifying (Richardson, Valentini). Spare a thought for Nzola, who did a pretty good job under Grosso on loan at Sassuolo and might feel rejected by the mister, but I’m not all that worried about him. I doubt Paratici can get anything on the market for most of these players so expect them to be quietly shipped elsewhere on loan to run down their contracts.
