Fiorentina’s been linked to the wonderfully-named Hans Nicolussi-Caviglia for weeks and now gets the payoff. The 25-year-old arrived in Florence this morning for his medical tests and signed for the club shortly afterward. Niccolò Ceccarini reports that it’s a €1 million loan fee to Venezia with a €7 million option that becomes obligatory if he appears in 50% of the games this season; Juventus get 10% of the fee as per its agreement with the Lagunari. I haven’t found accurate information about his salary
but Nicolò Schira thinks he’s signed through 2030, and my guess is that his wage is around €1 million per year.
While those are the financial numbers I’d expect for a backup, I’m high on Nicolussi-Caviglia and I’m not alone. HNC isn’t a super athlete or a super technician. He’s not a highlight reel player, the type who inspires 9 minute YouTube comps set to techno music that violates the Geneva conventions (or is he?). For me, his primary attribute is his mind: he’s always in the right place both in and out of possession and always makes the right decision both with and without the ball.
Tactically, he should connect the defense and regista Nicolò Fagioli with Simon Sohm and the forwards; too often, Nicky Beans has been all alone at the back with no help to progress the ball. Nicolussi-Caviglia will provide the back line with another simple option to get the ball moving and he’ll either feed it forward or keep it circulating. He’ll also provide another central presence defensively to slow down opposition counters, which have roared through the middle of the pitch unopposed. He can also take a free kick.
It might take him a little while to get fully settled in, but he’s surrounded by familiar faces (Fagioli and Moise Kean played with him for the Juventus Primavera way back when) and he’s got a reputation for being a tough and adaptable player, the sort who ends up wearing an armband at some point. He was quite popular with Venezia fans and shouldn’t take long to impress their Viola counterparts.
His signing means that Cher Ndour will drop down the hierarchy and could signal a reduced workload for Rolando Mandragora, depending on how his contract situation shakes out. At worst, though, HNC provides a competent and proven midfield option that Stefano Pioli can use whenever his stars need a break, and offers the upside for more.
