Fiorentina have taken Barcelona's next-big-thing-but-not-quite-yet Keirrison on loan. La Viola's first choice target was Antonio Cassano but Sampdoria's asking price was too high and with the window slamming shut in the near future they pulled the trigger on the Brazilian. Fiorentina are in a position where they had to do something to shore up their attack after the Adrian Mutu debacle. Although Fiorentina advanced through a reasonably competitive group in the Champions League they are languishing in the middle of the Serie A table, 7 points out of qualifying for next year's competition. That they are alive on three fronts (league, Europe, and copa) means their squad will be taxed heavily in the coming months. They needed add an attacking player if they want to succeed but I am not sure this was the right move.
Kierrison was signed from Palmeiras last summer for around 20 million Euros and Barcelona immediately shipped him off to Benfica to gain European experience. That experiment was a flop as he look poor on the rare occasion he got some playing time. If a guy can not win a starting place over guys like Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo (solid players but not elite figures) what makes Fiorentina think he can thrive in the more demanding Serie A? He will probably be on the bench behind Jovetic and Gilardino most of the time but the number of fixtures means he will get chances. I really don't expect this to be the signing that pushes Fiorentina over the top. From Kierrison's point of view it could be said this is a fresh start, a second chance to justify the hype and transfer fee of last summer. He is still very young. And while it would be tempting to say it is make or break time, the truth is that you can get many, many chances. Ricardo Quaresma has flopped in 3 of the biggest leagues in Europe and still gets mentioned as a possible target by reasonably successful clubs.
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