Mandragora is the newest name in the midfield rumor game

Now that the ruckus around a potential move for Sassuolo’s Alfred Duncan has quieted to a persistent rumbling, it’s time to see who else Fiorentina could bring in to reinforce the engine room. Per Gianluca di Marzio, Udinese regista Rolando Mandragora is the next option; apparently Daniele Pradè has met with Zebrette DS Pierpaolo Marino about a move.

This seems a lot more believable a reason for a meeting than a swoop for Rodrigo de Paul. Mandragora is a rock solid regista who seems well-suited to sit deep, protect the defense, and trigger the attack with clever forward passes. Not the most mobile himself, he’s a solid presence in the center of the park (albeit a bit injury prone) who can set the table than the type to finish moves himself: he’s scored all of 5 goals and tallied all of 5 assists in 96 career Serie A matches.

Given his preference for sitting deep, he seems like a good fit for Giuseppe Iachini’s tactics, even if he would overlap significantly with Erick Pulgar. Too, there’s the small matter of the two years he technically spent on the books for Juventus, although he only made one appearance for them. Finally, AS Roma are also in the mix following the injury to Amadou Diawara.

In the plus column, though, is the fact that he was suspended last year for blasphemy, which means he should get along famously with Marco Benassi. All kidding aside, Mandragora’s a solid Serie A player and would probably help Fiorentina. However, if it’s down to him or Duncan, the Neroverdi man seems a more exciting option.