Fiorentina may be planning to extend Dalbert’s loan

Although he arrived in Florence to a rather muted reception from the fans, Dalbert has been a pretty consistent performer for Fiorentina this season. His 6 assists (all from open play, no less) lead the club this term and he’s shown the pace and dynamism to be a real threat up and down the left side. It’s no surprise, then, that the Viola brass are ready to extend his loan from Inter Milan for another year, according to the reliable Nicoló Schira.

Due to their opposite loan deals, Dalbert and Cristiano Biraghi’s fates seem intertwined; the problem seems to be that while Fiorentina are interested in keeping the Brazilian, Inter are less enthused by the prospect of another season of Biraghi. However, Schira seems to think that both outfits might be interested in running it back, which could be an excellent solution for all parties involved.

As we’ve written about before on this site and as Mike and I discussed at length on the podcast, Dalbert started the season off brilliantly. His brief under Vincenzo Montella was to sprint forward and provide width down the left at all costs, and Dalbert quickly formed an excellent on-field understanding with Gaetano Castrovilli and Franck Ribery. His crossing was one of the few weapons that Fiorentina had early on, even without a real aerial presence on the other end, and he suddenly looked the star he was at Nice in 2016-2017.

The other shoe dropped when Giuseppe Iachini replaced Montella. Beppe likes his wingbacks to sit much deeper and focus on their defensive duties, which doesn’t play to Dalbert’s strengths as much as the previous approach. With the rumors of Iachini’s imminent replacement looming, though, that may not be as much of an issue going forward.

If this deal indeed comes to pass, it’s a good move for the Viola. Adding a solid player who already knows the team is never a bad thing, and this move would also shore up the one glaring weakness in the roster for another year. As a short-term solution, this would be a shrewd piece of business. The assumption, of course, is that any move would come with an option to buy Dalbert outright at season’s end. If it winds up being another dry loan, expect to see the Viola buy a big-name leftback (Porto’s Alex Telles is out of contract at the end of next year and has Italian citizenship, just saying).