Federico Bernardeschi

Upon signing a new contract, which in theory keeps him at Fiorentina until 2019, Federico Bernardeschi declared that he would wear his new number 10 jersey, which he chose to himself, ‘with pride’. Along with Babacar, the forward has already been hyped as the future of the club, and the sporting director, Daniele Pradè, said that the youngster reminded him of another former number at the club – Roberto Baggio. The young prospect already seems to have the footballing world at his feet – after a successful 2013-14 season spent in at Crotone with 12 goals in the league, Bernardeschi was propelled to the fore of Italian football and rewarded with a call up to train with the national team. His talent didn’t just suddenly come to light though: he was the star of the Fiorentina youth team who, the season beforehand, finished 2nd in the Campionato Primavera – the youth league – behind Juventus

He came back to Tuscany at the start of last season, making his debut by coming on in the 57th minute of a 0-0 draw with Genoa in September, and went on to score 3 goals and make 2 assists in a total of 10 appearances in all competitions – the first of which coming against Guingamp in a 3-0 win in the Europa League. Able to play across the frontline, he is fast and has a decent eye for goal – although his true position remains unknown for the time being. While he is recognised for the time being as a striker, Fiorentina’s coach last year, Vincenzo Montella – a former forward himself- , claimed that he could develop into a striker. In a press conference held after the signing of his new contract, he spoke – maturely, as Pradè noted – of his pride in wearing the number 10 jersey but also of the criticism and insults he has received from fans, which he brushed off, saying that they had nothing concrete behind them, also adding that ‘I wanted to show that renewing [my contract] was the right path’.

Now, with Mario Gomez leaving for Besiktas and Cuadrado and Salah already gone, Fiorentina will be looking to their bright prospect to link up with Babacar and spearhead the club’s new attacking force.

Here they are linking up for a goal within 18 seconds of Bernardeschi coming on: