The reporting around Fiorentina’s high-profile mercato was never going slow down but when you throw Moise Kean into a rumor, things hit a fever pitch. Various outlets breathlessly informed us this morning that Como has made a formal offer for the Azzurri striker. The nouveau riche Lariani have coveted the Moose for months and, backed by the boundless Hartono fortune, couldn’t care less about transfer fees. So why in heaven’s name would they submit an offer totaling a paltry €30 million?
Como’s got
a conundrum up front. After a deal to sell Álvaro Morata to Atlanta United collapsed when the MLS outfit opted for Breel Embolo instead, the Spaniard’s €8.3+ million salary presents an FFP obstacle that more money can’t overcome. Sporting director Carlalberto Ludi publicly backed Morata and denied interest in Kean just last week. So what’s changed?
Part of it is UEFA’s player registration rules, which require at least 8 players trained in Italy in the 25-man Champions League roster. Como has 7 senior players who meet that criterion, although at least 3 will likely move before the end of the mercato. Cesc Fabregas could rely on youth players to meet that requirement but doing so would freeze senior players out of the club’s first-ever European campaign. Signing Italian players has thus become critically important for the Lariani.
Hamstrung by Morata’s salary, though, they can’t offer as much as they’d like. Fabio Paratici is always wheeling and dealing but understands that replacing Fiorentina’s best player with just 2 weeks left in the window runs the risk of catastrophe. Fabio Grosso and his staff have built their plans around a striker with particular characteristics. Changing that profile so late in the game could force them to restart from scratch.
That’s not to categorically deny that the Viola could sell Kean. On the contrary, I wouldn’t be shocked if Paratici pulled the trigger. He sold Kean to Everton back in 2019 and could easily do so again, especially given his desire to cleanse every trace of Daniele Pradè from the RBCVPetc. Having just signed Mateo Pellegrino, he could conceivably argue that he’s already got a quality replacement in, although the difference between Kean and Pellegrino is stark.
I’d say that Paratici won’t budge for any less than €45ish million. Kean’s under contract until 2029 and seems content in Florence. The DS is under no pressure to sell, especially because the other strikers on the transfer carousel (e.g. Lorenzo Lucca, Artem Dovbyk) aren’t particularly inspiring. He’d thus need to pump that €45ish million right back into another fee to pry a quality striker away late in the window, wedging the Viola into the uncomfortable shoes currently on the Lariani feet.
A preliminary lowball offer is the first step in the age-old dance of the transfer saga, usually followed by its rejection. Como is the lead partner in this routine but it’s Fiorentina that has the control. I’d expect a few more passes around the floor before this is all settled. My hunch is that Kean sticks around for at least another year but that’s just speculation on my part and heaven knows I’ve gotten those guesses wrong before. This could go right down to the wire, though.
