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Woah. That was probably the busiest January transfer window I can remember Fiorentina having, both in terms of quantity and quality of players signing on and leaving. Let's go through and recap everything really quick.
IN
Yohan Benalouane: The 28-year-old French centerback joined from Leicester City. It's a loan deal with Fiorentina paying €250,000 up front, with an undisclosed fee (believed to be around €2 million) at the end of the season to keep him. Unable to crack the lineup for the most unexpected team in the world, he is, at best, a decent alternative to Facundo Roncaglia and Nenad Tomovic, and is more of a depth signing than anything. His wage is about €350,000.
Tino Costa: The 31-year-old Argentinean regista arrived on loan from Spartak Moscow. Fiorentina pays €500,000 for him up front; it's not known how much it'll take to keep in Florence permanently. Signed as cover for Milan Badelj while the Croatian recovers from a knock, Costa is sort of an injury-prone Pek-lite. His experience in Serie A makes him useful, but he probably won't last past the end of the season, in large part because his salary is €2.5 million, although it's safe to assume that Spartak is covering a hefty portion of it.
Panagiotis Kone: The 28-year-old Greek attacking midfielder joined on loan from Udinese, with a final fee that'll probably be around €4 million. Capable of playing through the middle or on the wing, he can produce some brilliant moments, but is probably rather low in the pecking order. With reports that Paulo Sousa didn't necessarily want him, he faces an uphill battle for minutes and may well end up spending just half a season in Florence.
Joshua Perez: The 18-year-old American attacker has signed a 4 year deal with the club. A U-20 international, he's actually been training with Fiorentina for the past several years, but has only just now been allowed to sign a professional contract. Equally comfortable on the wing or as a striker, he's one of the US's most highly touted prospects, although he probably won't make any appearances outside of the Primavera any time soon.
Andrés Schetino: The 21-year-old Uruguayan is a defensive midfield prospect brought in from CA Fénix in Uruguay for a small fee. He didn't spend much time in Florence, though, and is now on loan at Livorno.
Cristian Tello: The 24-year-old Spanish winger's path to Fiorentina was convoluted. His parent club Barcelona recalled him early from his 2-year loan at Porto in order to send him to Fiorentina on loan. The redemption fee remains unknown, but is probably between €8 million and €10 million, and he's got a salary of something like €3 million. The player's been saying all the right things. His searing pace provides a useful new dimension to the squad, and Barca's willingness to pull him out of a loan at Porto means they may expect Fiorentina to buy hi outright at the end of the year.
Mauro Zárate: The 28-year-old Argentinean winger joined from West Ham for just €2 million, signing a 4 year deal with wages around €2 million. Sort of a pacier, more selfish Josip Iličić, he's equally adept at looking divinely inspired and infernally useless, although he's certainly endeared himself to the fans already.
OUT
Jaime Báez: The 20-year-old Uruguayan striker has moved to Livorno for the remainder of the season in search of regular playing time with a senior side somewhere instead of the Primavera.
Ricardo Bagadur: The 20-year-old Croatian centerback has moved to Salernitana in Serie B for the remainder of the year. With the arrival of Benalouane, the youngster's no longer necessary cover and can finally start competing for minutes.
Marko Bakić: The 22-year-old Montenegrin midfielder has moved to Belenenses (of all places) until the end of the season. Freshly recovered from a back injury, he should compete for minutes with the Portuguese club.
Gilberto: The 22-year-old Brazilian wingback has joined Hellas Verona for the remainder of the year. The pressure should be off, since gli Mastini are almost certain to drop down to Serie B, which means a talented young player can get some top-flight minutes without the burden that would typically provide.
Ryder Matos: The 22-year-old Brazilian attacker was sold to Udinese for €3 million, signing a 4-year deal with the Zebretti and ending his 7-year tenure with Fiorentina. He was one of the last of Pantaleo's superstars left on the team and had shown promise, but was rendered superfluous by the new attackers brought in this window.
Ante Rebić: The 22-year-old Croatian forward is also at Hellas for the rest of the season, hoping to parlay his promising moments with Fiorentina into regular minutes with his new team and a bigger role with his parent club next year.
Giuseppe Rossi: Deep breaths. The 29-year-old striker/talisman has moved to Levante on loan, where he should easily get the regular minutes he needs to play himself back into full fitness in a league that may protect his fragile joints better than Serie A. Then he'll be back and be Pepito again next year. Deep breaths.
Mario Suárez: The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder has joined English side Watford for a fee of €5.5 million, with a number of incentives that could drive the fee higher, although Fiorentina will still absorb a considerable financial loss on him.
Joan Verdú: The 32-year-old Spanish midfielder was released from his contract, allowing him to join Levante for free. The half-season he spent in Florence led to (groan) a real renaissance for him, as he'd been plying his trade with Baniyas in the UAE until Paulo Sousa made him a reclamation project. Honestly, it's no great loss, although his part in that Nikola Kalinić assist was pretty great.
Well, that's all, folks. It wasn't as impressive as we might have liked, but the club looks to have strengthened overall, adding some good depth in key positions. Which is really all you can ask for out of the winter mercato.