OFFICIAL: Satalino sold to Sassuolo

Word has just broken that Giacomo Satalino has been sold to Sassuolo for a fee believed to be somewhere around €500,000. For fans who follow the Fiorentina youth setup, it’s a stunning turn of events; Jack was going to spend this season as the senior side’s third goalkeeper and was generally considered a superstar in the making. We thought he was going to be a good one, too, so we’re flabbergasted.

However, an interview with Satalino’s agent Matteo Roggi helps clarify matters quite a bit. He explains that his client had been surpassed in the Viola brass’ eyes by Michele Cerofolini, whom he admitted had a wonderful year for the Primavera. The sale will allow Satalino to spend another year as the unquestioned starter (and maybe the best player) with the Neroverdi Primavera, then begin his senior career with another full season of starting experience under his belt.

While it’s sad for Fiorentina fans, it’s also one of the few departures in recent memory that doesn’t leave the team looking like a villain. Indeed, Roggi thanked the club for its professionalism in letting the teenager leave to further his own career when it could have hung onto him. It’s the sort of move that can improve a club’s reputation when it comes to recruiting new faces, particularly of the fresher sort preferred by Pantaleo Corvino.

The DS isn’t being entirely charitable here, though, having inserted a clause into the documents of sale that will send fully 50% of all profits from future Satalino sales back to Fiorentina. We believe that could be a sizable chunk of cash, as the youngster may well be destined for bigger things than Emilia-Romagna; Arsenal, for example, tried to sign him last year as a long-term Petr Cech replacement.

The move, along with the sale of Ciprian Tătărușanu, further solidifies the Viola goalkeeping depth chart. Marco Sportiello is definitely the starter, while Bartłomiej Drągowski will probably handle cup competitions and work as the primary backup. Cerofolini becomes the top prospect in the system. Expect Corvino to bring aboard a veteran third keeper/dressing room presence—think Arturo Lupatelli—in the coming days, but for now, let’s all bow our heads for Satalino, Fiorentina’s former future number one.