In need of attacking reinforcement late in the transfer window, Fiorentina gambled on Leicester City’s Rachid Ghezzal, bringing the Algerian in on a loan with a view to buy.
Able to pay around €10m to make the move permanent at any time over the course of the campaign, the Serie A side were willing to help the player relaunch his career after seeing him pushed to one side under Brendan Rodgers.
The winger never convinced the Leicester manager, and the chance to move to Italy and a town like Florence was something Ghezzal couldn’t refuse, as he told the press on Thursday in a conference relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb.
He said: “Initially I was brought to Leicester because the manager (Claude Puel, at the time) knew me and wanted me there. It’s been a difficult year for me and when there was the chance to move to a historical club like Fiorentina, I couldn’t let that slip away”.
Ghezzal explained transfer deadline day was ‘very stressful’ for him as he waited for the two clubs to find an agreement for the loan deal, packing his stuff quickly to travel to Florence just in case something happened.
He added: “When I found out the two sides had finally sorted everything out, I let out a sigh of relief”.
Fiorentina’s next game in Serie A will be against reigning champions Juventus, where they will need to improve on their previous performance, a 2-1 loss to Genoa.
Perhaps Ghezzal will be the man that can help Vincenzo Montella’s team turn things around?
