Sousa permits Fiorentina to put Mario Gomez on the market

This could be the end of the line for Mario Gomez in Florence. After several days of conflicting reports, Sky Sports and ViolaNews both claim that Fiorentina are prepared to sell the former German international. It's not clear if upper management is worried that Gomez is washed up and now wants some return on their investment, or if the big striker simply doesn't fit into Paulo Sousa's scheme.

This being silly season, there are already many rumors flying on Mario's potential next destination. While there have been occasional rumblings in the past months of a return to the Bundesliga for Gomez, AS Monaco has emerged as the frontrunner for his services in the past few days, perhaps as a replacement for Radamel Falcao.

This being Fiorentina, we can only wish it could be so straightforward. Machinations involving AS Roma and their returning striker Mattia Destro have also surfaced, which could result in the Italian going to Monaco, then being immediately flipped back to Florence for Gomez, with Roma standing to turn a tidy profit. With this piece of work theoretically nearing completion, Prade and company would then turn their attention to Basel rightback Taulant Xhaka.

While this is all still summer transfer market rumor, there are so many reports corroborating each other that there is some likelihood of this transaction occurring. The final numbers for Mario Gomez's two seasons in Florence look to be 47 appearances and 14 goals. Prepare to take the button off of your favorites bar, folks.