Corvino looking to renew Zarate

We like Mauro Zarate because he scores crazy, selfish, poorly considered, spectacular goals. But Fiorentina had pretty much moved on from him at the beginning of the year after a dispute about whether or not he’d gotten the team’s permission to travel back to Argentina to be with his wife during her illness this past summer, and he spent much of the season frozen out of the squad. When Paulo Sousa finally brought him back, he started scoring goals, like he always does (he’s got the best goals-per-minute ratio in the club right now). But despite his recent heroics, he was expected to be shuffled on by management this month.

New reports from various sources, though, claim that Corvino has undergone a change of heart about the Zarate Kid after his performance against Napoli and now wants to sign him to an extension. Perhaps it’s not just that he finally noticed the striker’s talent, though. Bologna and Empoli, the two clubs rumored to be Zarate’s buyers, have lost interest—the former brought in ex-Viola winger Alessio Cerci, and the latter simply doesn’t have the cash.

No matter the reason, though, we’re thrilled that Mauro could stick around. He’s talked about his desire to stay in Florence for the long-term, which shows some common sense, and he is, at worst, a very useful sort of forward, and he’ll probably sign on the dotted line happily, as long as the offer isn’t too absurdly low.