OFFICIAL: Ricardo Bagadur sold to Brescia

Fiorentina have announced that they’ve sold centerback Ricardo Bagadur to Brescia for a fee that’s as yet unknown but probably no more than about €300,000. It’s a rather disappointing conclusion to a Viola career that showed some initial promise but never really got off the ground.

Bagadur joined the Primavera on the final day of the 2014 summer window from Rijeka for half a million euros. He excelled with the Primavera and earned a move to Salernitana the following year, where he looked comfortable in Serie B and locked down a starting role. Last year, however, the wheels came off, as he was unable to crack the lineup for Benevento, getting stuck behind former Viola prospect Michele Camporese.

We’d thought that this would be the make-or-break year for the 21-year-old. Would he be the rock-solid defender we saw at Salernitana, or the helplessly flailing one with Benevento? Given his performance in preseasons past (including the one in that picture, in which he absorbed a criminal foul from Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma), we’d leaned towards the former. However, Bagadur was a Daniele Pradè signing, which means that Pantaleo Corvino was always going to try to move him along. The youngster has some pedigree—he spent a good deal of time in Croatia’s international youth setup—so perhaps he’ll still come good. If so, let’s hope that there’s a buyback clause in this sale.