Fiorentina admits interest in Borini and Osvaldo

Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade has admitted the club is interested in bringing Liverpool's Fabio Borini and Roma's Pablo Osvaldo to Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Despite signing Giuseppe Rossi in the January transfer window, reports of interest in striker Stevan Jovetic has led the Viola looking at attacking alternatives.

Borini and Osvaldo played together for Roma before the former moved to Anfield in the summer, and even though Prade revealed the club's interest in the pair, he admitted it may be difficult to lure them away from their current teams.

"We are looking for a forward with the hunger for goals. A player who lives to score goals," he told Radio Toscana. "We like Fabio Borini, but it is unlikely that Liverpool will want to let him go. Osvaldo? I do not think that Roma will want to strengthen a direct rival of theirs, but you can never say never."

Vincenzo Montella's side is currently sixth in Serie A, 13 points behind leaders Juventus, and the club has scored the fourth-most goals in the league with 45 goals.

Rossi a gamble too far?

“It is not just a moment of joy for our fans, but a gift we wrapped up for all of Italian football,” Fiorentina President Andrea Della Valle told reporters last week. “We are happy to have brought a great talent like Giuseppe Rossi back to Italy.”
The return of the 25-year-old to Serie A has been greeted with great fanfare by supporters of the Viola and neutrals alike. The Azzurri international is undoubtedly one of the best, most promising strikers in Europe, and his signing for the Tuscan side shows the heights that they have reached this season.
Under Vincenzo Montella’s stewardship and the left-field transfer dealings of sporting director Daniele Pradè, the Stadio Artemio Franchi side have become one of the most refreshing teams on the peninsula – capable of genuinely challenging for a top three spot. Their attacking, free-flowing football will certainly play into the hands of the former Manchester United man, with the prospect of a Rossi-Stevan Jovetic strike partnership already whetting the whistles of many.
As the New Jersey-born forward has explained, it’s that brand of play that enticed him to Tuscany. “I would have made this move sooner, even last summer,” he stated at his presentation. “I’m happy to be at Fiorentina. They are the only side who came forward with facts and not just with words. That was very important to me.
“I like the Viola project a lot. I want to be a part of it. There are many youngsters here, but also players of experience. And we all know that Fiorentina are playing the best football in Italy. I can’t wait to start playing alongside Jovetic and Luca Toni, great players.”
The Parma youth product may be saying all the right words in public, but for fans and administrators at the club there is still a huge elephant in the room.
€12m may look like a bargain for a striker who seems to have it all – pace, intelligent movement, vision and a calm serenity in front of goal. But the last time anyone saw those qualities in action was October 2011. Two knee ligament injuries in the space of 18 months have completely curtailed his career, so much so that it was unclear at one point whether Rossi would ever return.
Of course, players all over the world have made a comeback from this notorious injury – Michael Essien, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Alan Shearer have all returned from cruciate tears to re-commence their careers. However, injuring the same ligament in the same knee twice in such a short space of time is of huge concern. And as he explains, there is still no real target as to when he will step back on to a pitch. “I don’t have a particular date in mind for my return,” he said. “My knee is stable right now, but it needs strengthening and it can’t be rushed. I hope to get back to full fitness as soon as possible so that I can play for the Viola fans. Things are going well.”
Reports claim that the end of March could be a realistic date for his debut, but it would be churlish and frankly empty-headed to suggest that Rossi can immediately come in and make a difference to the Gigliati’s season.
A more accurate representation of his value to the side can really only be gleaned next season, where we will see if all the hours of rehabilitation and gym work have paid off.
There is absolutely no questioning Rossi’s quality as a striker – 82 goals in 192 matches for Villarreal shows he can do it. But the question remains, is €12m is too big a gamble for a man who hasn’t played any football for a year and a half?
If there was any place more apt to resurrect your career, the Renaissance city of Florence is it.

El Hamdaoui happy with Viola arrivals

Fiorentina striker Mounir El Hamdaoui isn’t concerned by the increased competition for places after the club signed Giuseppe Rossi and Marcelo Larrondo.
Rossi has arrived from Villarreal and could be back in action by March after long-term injury, while Larrondo has been netted from Tuscan rivals Siena.
But the Moroccan international, currently on duty at the African Cup of Nations, doesn’t fear for his future at the club.
“I am never worried. I just have to concentrate on myself,” he told Football Italia’s South African correspondent Rossella Marrai.
“I do my job and they do their job in buying players which is good for us because we have a stronger team.”
The Moroccan arrived at Fiorentina in the summer of 2012 from Ajax Amsterdam and has started to show promise under Vincenzo Montella.
“Montella is a good Coach and he is a young Coach. I think he has done a really good job with us all,” he added.
“Last year Fiorentina struggled and now we are fifth in the table. He is doing a really good job and I think we have a lot of good players.
“Now they have bought some new players, so it is a good team and hopefully we will continue with the good run.”
The 28-year-old has three goals in 12 League games this term.

Juventus and Fiorentina fighting for Rossi signature

The Italy international has been connected with a return to Serie A, with La Viola willing to pay €4.5 million for a permanent deal, while the Old Lady are interested in a loan

It is believed the reigning Serie A champions are interested in striking a 12-month loan deal for the player, running from January this year to January 2014, while Viola hope to seal a permanent €4.5 million transfer.

The news comes after Athletic Bilbao confirmed the Bianconeri have opened talks with Fernando Llorente over a summer transfer, but it is clear they still wish to bolster their offensive options in the winter window.

Rossi was linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs last season prior to injuring the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in April.

His misery was compounded when El Submarino were relegated to the Segunda Division, but that has not stopped the two clubs in his homeland from registering their interest.

The 25-year-old began his career as a youth prospect at Parma, before being snapped up by Manchester United in 2005; he then moved on to Spain two years later.