Big(ger) Boys Pillaging Fiorentina?

By: Martha | December 27th, 2007

Come ON. If you believe the Italian papers this morning, Fiorentina are about the receive big money offers for their two touchstone players. (Hopefully they’ll be able to resist those offers, despite the delicious smell of cash and buying power.)

First, according to our beloved La Gazzetta — finally back after taking the holidays off like the rest of us — Sebastian Frey may be Milan’s ultimate target when it comes to replacing the error-prone Dida. The story has been around at least since Dida’s pantomime act in Glasgow, and it’s hard to tell if it’s simply thrown out there because the Frenchman is the best keeper in Italy not named Gigi, or if Milan actually have designs on him. La Gazzetta seem to doubt any approach could be put together before summer, but at that time Frey, whose contract with the Viola runs through 2010, could theoretically use that special buy-your-own-contract-out rule and go anywhere he wants. Sigh.

I imagine it would give any ambitious player pause to be told by Milan that you’ll be their first choice, particularly if their offer includes Champions League football. Of course, given how things are going for Milan right now, a Champions League spot is in no way a foregone conclusion, so that could be a blessing for Fiorentina — if they can make a miracle run into the top four, that would go a long way towards helping their big names ignore the salary cap, but at this point praying for loyalty is probably the best response. Which, given the prestige and money that would be involved if Milan did make an approach, could well be futile.

Corriere dello Sport, meanwhile, reports that Roma see Adrian Mutu as the answer to their striker question, and are preparing a big January bid for his services. Whoa. Well, he’s a bit different from the big target men who have been associated with Roma’s quest so far this winter, huh? Supposedly Rosella would be happy to pay Fiorentina’s asking price — rumored to be about £15 million — for the Romanian’s services, but since Della Valle doesn’t want to sell and Mutu doesn’t want to leave (at least not right now), this seems like a non-starter, even if Roma really do want him. If Fiorentina get into Champions League, I can’t see him leaving at all, and a UEFA Cup spot could even be good enough, given how comfortable Mutu is in Florence, and how highly he values his relationship with Cesar Prandelli. (She said hopefully.)

Note: I’m getting on a plane in a few minutes, so updates will be few and far between today.

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Category: AC Milan, Fiorentina, Roma, Rumors & News, Serie A

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Joe

Thanks for your clinical analysis, Roberto. I'm going based on form...and for the past year and a half (where I've seen enough effing Juventus games to last me a lifetime) Frey has outplayed Gigi.

Buffon's spot with the Azzurri is secure because only Amelia poses an immediate threat, and I could see Gigi pulling a Dino Zoff and playing for Italy through his late 30's.

Point still stands though...Frey has outplayed Gigi since the WC. The fact he isn't a regular with the French national team speaks volumes about that idiot Domenech.
Tim

I've been traveling so I've been away from all of this. I think I agree with Martha. Neither of these guys are getting sold in January. Not while the team is only 1 point off of their stated goal for the season - which is CL qualification. If anyone is sold now it will be Ujfalusi because he could leave on a free this summer. I expect him to be sold and Lupoli to be loaned out. Maybe a player or two will come in, but probably there will not be much movement at this point.

The stated goal for the club, according to Della Valle/Corvino/Prandelli is to make CL, establish a stable club that can compete on a year to year basis and then raie up the salaries. These are the first two that will be the test cases for this because there is certainly a market for both. And I think they will be smart and patient enough to see how this season winds up before making any moves on this. Right now they have the potential to qualify for the CL and make a deep run in the UEFA cup. After all the club has been through in the last 5 or 6 years, they are going to see this season through.
Martha

I really, really can't see him at Roma, but I suppose it'll come down to what Della Valle does with the cap, and how big of a deal money is to Mutu. There's no way he's leaving before summer, though, unless something completely insane happens.
chris

And on Frey, there's no way in hell they can keep him unless they shatter the cap. He's one of the top baker's dozen in the world and still fairly young. Teams will pay accordingly, including Milan, which has some pretty BS salaries. (But he still is not even close to Buffon's league.)
chris

I could see the Mutu thing happening. If Fiorentina fails to make the CL, possible, and Roma offers up twice what the Viola offer in terms of salary (a name guy at Roma can make 3.5-4m after those laughable "bonuses"), then I could certainly see it appealing to Mutu. Especially after last summer, when Roma finally paid off its debts, and now has Milanese-type money to spend. Also, I hear the yay in Rome is pretty good.

Not that I'd want Mutu anywhere near my team, scumbag that he is.
Nolan

I wish Della Valle had Pasquale Foggia-style friends in Naples, that would make Fiorentina's life much easier
roberto

joe your retarded. Frey is not the "best goalkeeper in Italy". If that were the case, Buffon would have to be playing in Bangladesh. He is hands down Italy's Number One and has been for a decade.
Martha

That extension was completely bizarre, I agree -- maybe Milan are starting to believe their "family" PR, and couldn't cut him loose?

Regarding Frey, I'm worried about the salary cap situation, particularly if the Viola don't get a CL spot. I mean, he could be making a whole lot more elsewhere, and if someone makes a crazy offer, it's going to be hard to turn down, I'm afraid. Like I said in the post, I'm much less worried about Mutu leaving, but a CL spot will make me a lot more secure in that belief.
Joe

I believe Frey has been the best keeper in Italy for the last year and a half. Gigi is one my only Juve players that don't make my skin crawl but Frey has outplayed him since the '06 World Cup. There's no chance La Viola let him go, IMO. He and Mutu simply mean too much Fiorentina and they have too much on the line. A CL spot is still a reasonable goal for Fiorentina and they won't get there by giving up either of these two.

Why on earth did Milan sign Dida to an extension in the summer anyway? He's been particularly error prone for the past three years. Doesn't Galliani watch the matches?