Thank you, Federico

You win some you lose some, and it this case, Fiorentina have just suffered the biggest loss imaginable.

Right now, the €40 million fee looks like a snip for Juve. A player of Bernardeschi's quality for such a small fee may be indicative of a few few factors, notably Juve's valuation of the player and the player's desire to ditch Florence for Turin. However, as of now, there is little hope that the €40 million will be invested substantially enough to really give fans the slightest glimmer of hope going into the new season. Bernardeschi's departure leaves Fiorentina's attacking department criminally understocked, and with the start of Serie A looming, if the alarm bells hadn't already started ringing, they should do now.

However for just a moment I'd like to detract from the frankly unforgivable series of decisions made by a board who seemingly want to bring Florence to its knees this Mercato. I would instead like to just focus on Berna, a truly, truly special player.

Federico Bernardeschi was a player who sparked my love for Fiorentina. He was a player who captured my attention more than any other. His technique, guile and symbolism of Florence stood him out from the crowd. In these modern times the value of a homegrown, domestic player tied to a club by a love for his city and surroundings is truly invaluable. Bernardeschi, to me, a middle-Englander, represented Florence and the class, pedigree and romance Fiorentina manages to capture.

As sad and painful as Bernardeschi's exit is, I find it hard to begrudge him of a move away from the toxic mess that is Fiorentina right now. Ludicrous sales, lack of competence and a merciless attitude has tainted the summer as a whole. First Gonzalo Rodriguez, then Borja Valero, now this. As the heart of the squad is ripped away, the remainder of the team no resembles a bedraggled corpse being systematically picked and chewed at by Serie A's Vultures. The anger directed towards the board and their decisions is certainly more complex than purely squad building, however Fiorentina have failed their fans and their ambitions by loosing their most important player.

The emergence of Federico Chiesa has undoubtedly softened the blow, Florence's new hope has the potential to be as good if not better than Bernardeschi. The board must not make the same mistake it made with Bernardeschi when Juventus come knocking for Chiesa.

If there was ever going to be a turning point for Fiorentina this Mercato, this was always going to be it.

So Arrivederci, Berna. Thanks for the memories. Oh, and thanks for this...