Five possible replacements for Giuseppe Rossi
The news coming out of Fiorentina doesn’t seem to be too positive regarding Giuseppe Rossi’s knees. Time periods from 18 months to two months have been bandied about for how long Rossi could face out. The truth is that the true extent of the injury won’t be known for a few more weeks. The only thing that is certain is that with the injury problems that Mario Gomez has faced throughout the year and Rossi’s latest setback, Fiorentina are in dire need of extra numbers up front. Beyond Gomez and Rossi Fiorentina’s other striking options have a mighty 0 Serie A career goals between them. Fiore need goals to continue their Champions League push, Fiore need a striker.
Fiorentina will be looking towards strikers available on loan, but if a player comes along who could offer them something more than a simple short term fix then they could be pushed to spend. Lets look at five possible signings Fiore could make to try and fill the void left by Rossi.
Alessandro Matri
Obviously Matri isn’t everyones cup of tea, he’s coming off a poor season with Juve and he has one league goal to his name in this campaign. However I’ve always been a fan of his. Milan would be willing to let him go due to his poor form and the return of Pazzini. It remains to be seen whether he could be signed on loan due to the rumoured interest from the likes of West Brom and Sampdoria who would be willing to offer cash. It is doubtful that Fiorentina would be willing to pluck up the cash for a player like Matri due to his form and the interest from other clubs in him. He’s still one of the most talked about options for Montella however.
Alvaro Morata
Between Morata and Jese Rodriguez Real Madrid have two of the most exciting youngsters on their books since Javier Portillo and Roberto Trashorras. And if Portillo taught us anything it was that when strikers arrive at Fiorentina from Real Madrid, magic happens. The magic in Portillo’s case was him magically going from one of the most talked about young players on the planet to a Spanish Franny Jeffers. Morata has impressed throughout his time with the Spanish youth teams and has shown glimpses of great promise with the Madrid first team. In the short term he could be an effective, cheap stop-gap for Fiorentina.
Siem De Jong
He predominantly plays deeper for Ajax but he is capable of playing up-top, his versatility could also become a valuable asset once Rossi and Gomez return. He would be more than capable of playing in a deeper role for Fiore. De Jong has already confirmed that he is looking to leave Ajax this summer, but if Fiore were to knock on Ajax’s door with a respectable bid then they could be willing to let him go. Coming from Ajax you also know he is arriving from a great school of thought and would slot straight into Fiore’s style of play.
Pablo Osvaldo
Aka the inventor of the bicycle kick. His Southampton career has hardly got going, flashes of brilliance and then anonymity. His recent goal record looks good on paper (aside from this season), but it doesn’t tell the whole story. He has been dogged by discipline problems and prolonged periods of lost form, but that doesn’t change the fact that on his day he can get a goal from nothing. There has been rumoured interest from Inter Milan for the services of Osvaldo too so Fiorentina could face competition in trying to bring him back to Serie A.
Stevan Jovetic
The long shot deal, but the deal any Serie A fan would love to see. Jovetic has played five games this season for Man City, £22m for five games. He’s firmly 4th choice and is in need of game time. It would benefit both parties if Jovetic did depart on loan. Fiorentina would get a player more than capable of filling Rossi’s boots and Man City’s £22m summer acquisition would get the game time he so sorely needs. The adjustment period for Jovetic would also be minimal, the bigger task would be him regaining his fitness and match sharpness quick enough to have a big say in Fiorentina’s upcoming fixtures.
Twitter: @ForzaCalcio14
