Well, this one's really come out of nowhere to suddenly become a thing. Gianluca di Marzio claims that striker Fabio Quagliarella is on the outs with Torino. The Turin club have brought Ciro Immobile back for a year (with a possible option to buy), and are also chasing Leicester City's Croatian international attacker Andrej Kramarić. That, combined with Quags' refusal to celebrate a penalty against his hometown club of Napoli last week, has the Granata management and fans questioning how much they really need him.
The 32-year-old forward has had a slightly strange career. While never prolific, he has scored a succession of spectacular goals, leading to the not-entirely-complimentary nickname of "Mr. Bull---t goals." He's played for 6 Serie A teams, making 326 appearances and scoring 98 goals. While that's hardly an impressive return, he's frequently been deployed as more of a wide forward than an out-and-out striker. He's also got a quarter century of appearances for the Azzuri, scoring 7 goals.
Here's the twist: he's played for Fiorentina before. He made a dozen appearances in purple back in Serie C2 when Torino loaned him out, scoring a single goal. Second twist: he's been linked several times previously to Fiorentina, turning down a transfer several times because the club wasn't big enough; one might be forgiven for assuming that the Viola might turn the tables and reject him now, although he'd probably come at a significant discount.
Regardless of the feelings involved, the move would make some sense for Fiorentina. Another forward who's capable of that moment of magic to break down a packed defense is always welcome. Whether Quags would accept a spot on the bench is another issue entirely. Let's wait and see how this one shakes out, and enjoy some of his most absurd goals in the meantime.