Florence, 1 July 2024 – The day of farewell has also arrived. In football, June 30th marks the boundary between one season and another. Contracts expired and never renewed. Fiorentina tried on their own terms, in the end nothing came of it. Thus the club’s social channels marked more or less painful farewells. In the morning from Viola Park they dedicated a nice post to Giacomo Bonaventura. Lots of photos, lots of celebrations enclosed in the official farewell. «Thank you Jack. You will forever be part of the Viola history! Good luck for your next adventure!». Bonaventura leaves after four intense seasons, with 162 appearances seasoned with 22 goals and as many assists. Objectively the hardest farewell to digest. During the day there was no shortage of social discontent for this decision, which in any case has been certain for days now.
Then the other two farewells arrived in the afternoon. First that of Alfred Duncan. «A journey together that lasted more than four years. Thanks for everything!”. The Ghanaian midfielder leaves after 126 appearances and 6 goals. Performance not always up to expectations, a loan to Cagliari in the middle. Then with Italiano it became useful again. Finally, the slightly colder greeting to Gaetano Castrovilli, to whom Fiorentina simply said “good luck for the future”. The midfielder from Puglia deserved a different ending. Lots of expectations, good plays, several goals and the number 10 shirt. He was even compared to Antognoni. Then two operations on the same knee and a relationship with the club that left him behind became complicated.
However, an era is coming to an end and a chasm opens up in midfield. This is certainly a fact. In the coming weeks, Pradè and Goretti will have to take at least three, if not four, players on the midfield line. The first few days of the week will be monopolised by the deal Zaniolowhich is still looking for a conclusion. Fiorentina and Atalanta are still far from the 19-20 million that Galatasaray is asking for. Pradè and Goretti used the weekend to decide what to do. From now on, any moment could be a good one to try to close the deal. But this also applies to Atalanta, less inclined than the Viola to grant the obligation to buy.
Alexander Latini
