Official: Vincenzo Italiano renews until 2024

Despite Fiorentina’s Conference League finish, enthusiasm for the Viola’s next campaign is lower than it should be. This is largely due to uncertainty after the terrible treatment of Lucas Torreira. Rumors such as signing Vanja Milinković-Savić on loan as a backup for Pietro Terriciano instead of a true #1 only amplify the fact that Rocco Commisso is unwilling to spend at this point.

So, we were overdue for some good news, and we finally got some today. Vincenzo Italiano (and his staff’s) renewal until the end of the 2023-24 season was finally made official after weeks of speculation. There’s also an option for Fiorentina to extend the contract until 2024-25.

While this took longer than expected, Viola fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Italiano will now reportedly be taking in around €2 million a year in salary, more than double his earnings from last season. Any Fiorentina fan knows that this figure is more than deserved, as he took a squad quite similar to the relegation-threatened teams of before and returned us to Europe after six long years.

Now comes the time to plan. With Fiorentina likely to undergo some heavy transition both on and off the pitch in the next year, how can the Viola keep Italiano happy as the leader of this project in the years to come? As I’ve mentioned earlier, if we fail to strengthen the squad sufficiently this season and the bench opens up at a club like Napoli or Roma, there’s little we can do to convince Vinny to stay.

For now, let’s enjoy this good news, and switch our focus to the summer mercato. Luka Jović is in pole position for the backup striker position right now, a move that could be made official in the coming days. As already mentioned, the depressing rumor that Milinković-Savić is close to signing on as our backup keeper brings me right back to earth about this club’s ambitions. Still, as long as Italiano is our mister heading into next season, I have no reason to not be optimistic about the Viola’s on-field performance.