Pezzella could be the next whirlwind Fiorentina signing

Viola tifosi have been pretty underwhelmed with Pantaleo Corvino’s work in the transfer market this summer, although they’re starting to come around as a flurry of late activity has brought Marco Benassi and Cristiano Biraghi to the club, with Giovanni Simeone’s move just awaiting the final signature. The crow is keeping up his offensive by closing in on Real Betis centerback Germán Pezzella, though, as various reports suggest, although they all seem to originate with this Gianluca di Marzio story.

It’d be quite a coup, as the player was said to be in the sights of Inter Milan quite recently. The fee for the 26-year-old Argentine is thought to be in the €10-13 million range. The former River Plate man joined los Verdiblancos in 2015 for €2.25 million, so they’d turn a tidy profit on the deal, especially since they just signed him to an extension in May.

He’s got experience in a back three, where he operated in the middle, and in a back four. He’s the sort of player who should complement Davide Astori nicely; whereas the captain is more of an elegant and cerebral player, Pezzella revels in the physical aspect of the game. He’s a throwback to the classic Argentinean hardman defender in his approach, which is to mark his man relentlessly all the way into the dressing room and back out again. He’s strong as an ox, likes to dig in for a tackle, and relishes an aerial duel. He’s a threat at set pieces as well.

If the move does go through, it will probably spell the end of Vitor Hugo as Astori’s partner, at least until the Brazilian is acclimated to life in Italy. It will also ease some of the burden on Nikola Milenković, whose services probably won’t be necessary unless Stefano Pioli wants to blood him in Serie A. Pezzella holds dual Argentine and Italian citizenship and even has a Fiorentina connection, having spent the past two years with ex-Viola men Cristiano Piccini and Joaquín. All in all, this would be a brilliant move for a defender many expect to make an Albiceleste bow sooner rather than later, and we think he could be worth every cent.