Report: Candreva wants Fiorentina

Fresh off the the return of the Mayor, Gazzetta dello Sport believes that Inter Milan are trying to unload another veteran onto Fiorentina. This time, it’s Antonio Candreva; GDS claims that, despite interest from Genoa and Sampdoria, the 33-year-old is hoping for a move to Florence, despite the lack of any reported interest from the Viola.

That’s no shot against Candreva, who’s still an effective player and could certainly do a job for Giuseppe Iachini. The 54-time Italy international reinvented himself as a wingback last year under Antonio Conte after spending most of his career as a pure winger and had a pretty impressive campaign. Inter, however, believe he’s one of several pieces they need to move in order to bring in Arturo Vidal, so they’re supposedly shopping him pretty hard.

Genoa may have lost interest after bringing Davide Zappacosta on loan from Chelsea, although new boss Rolando Maran’s love of a 4-3-1-2 means that Candreva might have never fit anyways. Samp, though, seem like a likelier landing spot, as their lack of wingers seems to be cramping Claudio Ranieri’s plans. Fabio Quagliarella and Federico Bonazzoli especially would probably relish Candreva’s crossing in a 4-4-2.

And Fiorentina? Well, it’s tough to see this one making sense unless the plan is to use Candreva on the left; while he’s an impressively two-footed player, Iachini surely saw the trouble with having a right-footer on the left flank after the disastrous experiment with Pol Lirola there last year. On the right, Candreva would have to leapfrog Lirola and, more importantly, Federico Chiesa to earn any playing time. The move would also push academy-trained Lorenzo Venuti towards the door, which could put the Viola in danger of losing their minimum quota of homegrown players.

While nobody doubts Candreva’s commitment to the cause or talent even at 33, there simply isn’t room for him in the system unless Chiesa moves on. And if Fede does indeed leave, the club will probably invest that money in a like-for-like replacement. With all respect to Candreva, he probably shouldn’t hold his breath for an offer from Daniele Pradè this summer, especially with elder statesmen Borja and Giacomo Bonaventura now in the fold.