Fiorentina contact PSG about Jesé Rodríguez

Desperate to replace what looks to be a raft of outbound stars, Fiorentina has reportedly contacted PSG for the services of Spanish attacker , going so far as to phone the Parisian superclub to discuss the finer details of a loan move with an option to buy the 24-year-old at season’s end. We’ve been hearing about this one for awhile, but dismissed it out of hand due to the astronomically high salary the player demands. But if there’s communication between the clubs, something is going on.

Jesé Rodríguez was once the golden boy of Real Madrid, often compared to Cristiano Ronaldo as he rocketed through the youth ranks and earned several appearances with the senior team as a teenager. It all unraveled in 2014, though, after a tackle from Sead Kolašinac tore his cruciate ligament, and Jesé’s never looked the same. He fell out of favor with los Merengues, who sold him to PSG for €25 million last year; that the Parisians were willing to pay so much for a player who’d barely featured for 2 years speaks to his talent.

But life in the capital of France didn’t prove any better than life in the capital of Spain, and he returned to hometown club Las Palmas on loan in January. Although his form improved a bit, his solipsistic attitude and non-stop partying did little to endear him to the fans or the management, and he was sent back to PSG, who seem to be held tightly in the grip of buyer’s remorse and want to offload him again.

It’s a shame that he’s shown himself to be a bit of a headcase, because he’s a wonderful player, blessed with searing pace, a bag of tricks on the dribble, and a directness and hunger for the goal which should see him become a superstar. Perhaps a spell in a smaller, quieter city which doesn’t have as much history for him (like Florence) is just what he needs. On the other hand, though, his reputation for rubbing management the wrong way hardly bodes well for his prospects with the Viola. On the other other hand, though, look what he was doing as a 20-year-old for Real Madrid a few years ago. Dang.