Transfer Tuesday: T minus 2 months

Fiorentina has had a tumultuous few transfer windows, and if the rumors are to be believed, that's unlikely to change this time around. The big news is that the Daniele Pradè era may be winding down, as the Della Valles mull some changes that could send their current DS to Bologna or Udinese. The worst-kept secret in Florence is that old friend Pantaleo Corvino, currently the DS at Bologna, could make a triumphant return to resume his former role at the club that shot him to international acclaim. He seems certain to leave the Rossoblu, although they'll enter into talks with him soon. Market expert Costatino Nicoletti and former player Lorenzo Malusci both think it will happen, too, maybe in a Corvino-Pradè swap.

Goalkeepers

Now, let's move onto the rumors about players. Firenzeviola.it claims (and a lot of sources have backed it up) that the Viola remain unconvinced by Ciprian Tătăruşanu and are looking to upgrade over the summer. The shortlist, they say, is Salvatore Sirigu of PSG, Marco Sportiello of Atalanta, Mattia Perin of Genoa, and Simone Scuffet of Udinese. Besides Sirigu, these are all young goalkeepers, which maybe indicates a desire for a younger squad overall.

Defenders

While he barely counts as a Viola player, Yohan Benalouane may be headed back to Leicester City before June begins. Fiorentina are trying to recoup the salary they've paid him on the grounds that the Foxes didn't disclose the nature of his injuries. Resolution could come in the next few weeks, but this one could also end up going to arbitration in the court system.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have started expressing interest in Barcelona's Marc Bartra, whom Fiorentina have publicly admired for years. Now that the Reds and their vast coffers are interested, it's probably the knell of death for the dream of seeing Bartra in Viola. More likely, perhaps, is a move for Nancy-Lorraine's 21 year old French centerback Modou Diagne. He's been pretty good in Ligue 2 and has drawn the eyes of Arsenal, Palermo, and Torino, as well as Fiorentina. He's a lanky, rangy defender with good pace, and although he needs to get stronger, he could end up being a decent player down the line.

Midfielders

The Milan Badelj kerfuffle has died down a bit, but it did alert other clubs to his presence, and now Atlético Madrid have confirmed their interest in bringing him aboard. And Napoli, of course, still covet Matías Vecino, this time to the extent of preparing a €20 million bid for him. Perhaps that, plus Gonzalo Higuaín, Jorginho, and maybe Elseid Hysaj, would do the trick. If Corvino does come back, maybe he can work some Felipe Melo sort of thing out with the Vesuviani. Finally, Wisła Kraków say that they'd like to keep Rafał Wolski past the end of the season; leaving him on loan for another year may be a good idea, but letting compete at a slightly higher level may be a priority.

As far as midfield reinforcements go, this week looks pretty bleak. Atalanta's Martin de Roon, who was courted by the Viola earlier this year, has publicly announced that Napoli now have an option for him. Dennis Praet (who was likely out of the Della Valles' price range anyways) has been tapped by Sevilla as a replacement for Ever Banega. The only real news is that a move for Liverpool's wantaway number ten João Teixera is suddenly back on.

And, for wide midfielders, Anderlecht's Honduran international Andy Najar says he wants out of Belgium. Considering that he was touted for a move the Gigliait last year, he's a decent bet to end up in purple. With Barcelona and Bayern Munich sniffing around Federico Bernardeschi, and even PSG joining in, it's good to have a few options in case the unthinkable happens. On the plus side, management are already working on keeping Cristian Tello in town, possibly with an €8 million fee that would be quite a bargain.

Forwards

Some weird news about Nikola Kalinić, who's apparently decided that Paulo Sousa is responsible for his burst onto the scene and may leave Florence if the Portuguese mister moves on. So I guess that's something to chew on. A potential landing place is Napoli (of course), who've decided that he's the backup plan if they can't buy Romelu Lukaku (sure) or Pierre-Patrick Aubameyang this summer. We're also getting a clearer idea on the future of Mario Gómez: Beşiktaş DS Ahmet Nur Çebi wants to keep him on loan for another year. The financial side of things is tricky, though, as the Turkish club only want to pay a paltry €1,000 for that second year, although they'd offer 35% of all future profits on the player.

The replacement strikers being bandied about right now are rather underwhelming. Genoa hitman Leonardo Pavoletti is seen as a direct Kalinić replacement, as they're both big penalty box operators having career years in their late 20s. Borja Bastón is somewhat more intriguing. A towering young striker, he's scored 17 goals in 28 appearances for Eibar this season, after knocking in 23 in 39 appearances last term for Zaragoza. A former Spanish youth international, Atlético Madrid own his rights, but have had him out on loan for the past 5 years. He's strong, devastating in the air, better with his feet than you'd think, and has impeccable penalty-box instincts.