Corvino continues to search South America for talent

Just because most eyes are on the World Cup and not club football doesn’t mean Panteleo Corvino is on vacation.

The Fiorentina sporting director is reported by the La Gazzetta dello Sport to be in Milan with Argentine agent Marcelo Simonian to discuss three of his clients who could fill very different roles with Fiorentina.

The youngest of the three is Tomas Cuello, an 18 year old left midfielder who plays for his hometown club of Atletico Tucuman back in Argentina. Last year he became the first player born in the 2000s to play in the Argentine Primera, and although he hasn’t secured a starting spot for the first team, he remains talented enough to have also attracted the attention of Inter Milan and Sevilla.

Next up is 19 year old Uruguayan striker Joaquin Ardaiz, a native of Salto, the town that produced Edison Cavani and Luis Suarez. As he continues to get attention from every big club you can think of, the foreign media has dubbed him one of many “new Luis Suarez”, and although the comparison may not be fair, he does play a superficially similar complete, physical game. He is a product of Montevideo’s Danubio and played on loan in Belgium last year at Royal Antwerp, where he scored 3 goals in 12 games.

Finally there is Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez, the oldest and most Serie A ready of Simonian’s clients discussed. The 25 year old native of Mendoza in Argentina is an attacking midfielder and product of Huracan prior to joining River Plate for around $4M in 2015. After a tough adjustment, things started to click for the smooth dribbling playmaker last year, wrecking havoc in front of a hard working midfield. It’s only a matter of time before Europe comes calling for Pity Martinez, and although he will need to continue to show consistency to make it as a starter in one of the major European leagues, he has the kind of ball skill that Fiorentina is lacking these days.

It’s important to note that Corvino’s interest is likely pretty new, and all three, who are also being eyed up by far wealthier clubs than Fiorentina, are a long ways away from Florence. That said, it remains encouraging to see that Corvino is continuing to scout in Argentina and beyond for talent as the domestic market continues to be expensive.

Corvino had previously been scouting Boca Juniors for two players, Uruguayan box to box midfielders Naithan Nandez, who is reportedly on the verge of signing with Fiorentina, having previously had a move aborted when Corvino signed Sebastian Cristoforo instead. Corvino was also interested in Colombian leftback Frank Fabra, and was rumored to have made an offer, although with Fabra unfortunately missing the World Cup following an ACL tear just a week before, it is unknown if Fiorentina will continue to show interest.