:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67310079/1198180418.jpg.0.jpg)
According to the Corriere di Verona (as reported by TMW), Hellas Verona has approached Marco Benassi about a move and the midfielder is reportedly keen to make it happen. Fiorentina have yet to agree to terms but would likely be ready to move the 26-year-old out, although the Mastini would probably structure the deal as a loan with a fee at season’s end, which we’d guess would be somewhere around €8-10 million, as that would be affordable for the Gialloblù and would represent a small profit for the Viola.
Benassi’s path to playing time is blocked by Sofyan Amrabat, Gaetano Castrovilli, Erick Pulgar, and Alfred Duncan, not to mention any possible new signings. Marco’s spent nearly all of his senior career as a starter and probably wants to maintain that status. Hellas is a logical landing spot: Ivan Jurić has been brilliant as using nominal central midfielders in attack, sometimes fielding Valerio Verre as a center forward, and he’d likely unlock Benassi in a way we simply haven’t seen in Florence.
It’s too bad that Benassi’s never been able to offer consistent quality for the Viola, as he’s obviously got a lot of quality; untalented players don’t score goals like this (turn those speakers way down).
Still, his vanishing act on the pitch—both the eyeball test and the statistics back up the theory that he often doesn’t do very much—hasn’t endeared him to the Fiorentina faithful over these past three years. He’s never turned into the box-to-box runner and playmaker that so many predicted he’d grow into and, as one of the club’s highest earners, is part of the lingering problem in the the Viola midfield.
Hopefully the move will kickstart his career and help him regain the form that saw him earn an Italy callup two years ago. He’d be a deep reserve if he stayed in Florence and would likely play a lot of minutes in Verona. Fiorentina would love to free up his roster spot and salary, while the Scaligeri could use his talents in a rotational role at minimum. This is the rare transfer rumor that gets the full Viola Nation stamp of approval.