Joe Barone, the top Fiorentina director, talked about his team’s plans for January and more. He briefly touched on Lille’s Jonathan Ikoné, who appears very close to joining: “We are following him, we like him, and he would be ideal for our style. We know what to do in the next window since we have been working on it for a long time.”
The executive weighed in on Dusan Vlahovic in a chat with La Repubblica: “He is a serious professional, and I have nothing to complain about there. We have a good personal relationship with him. We have been clear and offered him a great contract, the richest one in the history of Fiorentina. He and his agent told us that they did not want to accept it. But the proposal is still on the table. We do not know what will happen in the future. But we have a very tight and strong group, and he is part of it.”
The Fiorentina brass often slammed agents: “We have nothing against them, but they control the transfer market completely today. We do not like the double-dipping as they cash in percentages from both sides when they move a player. This must stop, and we need clear rules that everybody must follow.”
Barone rejoiced for hiring Vincenzo Italiano after the Gennaro Gattuso fiasco: “I like him a lot, and I have been following him since his Trapani days. His football is akin to Zdenek Zeman’s one. He was exactly what Fiorentina were looking for.”