Fiorentina

Fiorentina were moments away from securing Champions League football for next season, but Milan's last-gasp victory over Siena means the club will have to settle for the Europa League instead. And they could be dealt with another blow this summer.

The Viola will have a fight on their hands to keep their highly-rated forward Stevan Jovetic at the Artemio Franchi, who is currently being courted by several clubs across Europe after some impressive performances in the Serie A. 

Now we take a look at how the former Partizan forward has performed this season, which clubs are queuing for his signature and a brief scouting guide to the Montenegro striker, along with a few details as to where he might be plying his trade next season.

AGE: 23

CONTRACT SITUATION: Jovetic signed a new five-year deal in October 2011, and is contracted to the Italian side until the summer of 2016.

CAREER STOPS: Partizan Belgrade (2006-2008), Fiorentina (2008-present)

CURRENT CAMPAIGN: Serie A: 31 games, 13 goals, 5 assists (WhoScored)

VIDEO SHOWREEL: 

SCOUTING GUIDE

An elegant forward, Stevan Jovetic relies more on his technical quality than his pace. Operating more as a second striker as opposed to a lone, out-and-out frontman, this is reflected in his goal tally.

It's fair to say he is not quite as prolific as other Serie A strikers, but he combines both creativity and finishing into his game. Jovetic likes to drop into pockets of space and tends to play just off the main striker for both Fiorentina and his country Montenegro in the "No.10" role.

WHERE NEXT

 Jovetic still has three years remaining on the deal he signed back in October 2011, and with that, he has never publicly stated his intention to leave Florence, where he has been based for the last five years.

However, the 23-year-old did recently reveal he was flattered to be linked with a move to Arsenal (Goal.com) and with Juventus also showing a long-standing interest in the talented forward (Goal.com), a move seems to be on the cards. 

Obviously there are some hindrances which could block a move away from Fiorentina; a move abroad would suit the club much better than selling to a rival such as Juventus, and despite interest from Arsenal, the player's wage demands as well as the hefty fee could see a move fall through.

According to the Express, Manchester City were said to be targeting Jovetic before Roberto Mancini was sacked last week, and although they are one of few who could afford the Montenegrin native, their interest could die down depending on who takes over at the Etihad Stadium.

Jovetic faces an uncertain summer as clubs weigh up their bids, but another season in Serie A and in the Europa League would do no harm to his development should no suitable offer arrive.

Stevan Jovetic and Giuseppe Rossi are a lot alike. Both were snapped up while still very young—Jovetic by Fiorentina and Rossi by Manchester United—and both know what it's like to have a long lay-off through injury.

But while the Montenegrin has been allowed to develop slowly into one of Europe's most complete forwards, first in the ranks of Partizan Belgrade and then in Florence, Rossi's life has been a nomadic existence. 

The New Jersey-born Italian made a high-profile move from Parma to Manchester United as a teenager and was tipped for the top. Since then, he's been anywhere but. A fruitless loan-spell in Newcastle disappointed before a more promising turn back in Parma.

Rossi's move to Villareal looked like it was a good fit for the forward. Still young, but plagued by injuries, he found a team in which he could develop his considerable talents without the pressures that come with struggling somewhere like Old Trafford. Free from problems in 2010-11, he scored 32 goals in 56 games and suggested that great things were to come both in La Liga and with the Italian national team. 

Then came two anterior cruciate ligament injuries and Villareal's relegation to the Segunda Division. 

The same injury kept Jovetic out for a season in 2010, but when fit he's been a regular starter—and scorer—for Fiorentina since his move in 2008, a club that though not without its troubles, has performed well on a limited budget: the perfect proving ground for a young striker. 

Now, the Viola have them both. So are they Serie A's next great strike partnership? Sadly, the answer's probably in the negative. 

Injuries have dogged Rossi since he was a teen and there are reasonable doubts about his ability to consistently contribute to Fiorentina's cause. The €35 million release clause in his contract is a measure of his potential, but the €10 million bargain that Montella got in signing him is just as telling. He's a gamble and he came in as damaged goods. There's no other reason for a 26-year-old Italy international to go for less than double that. 

Of course, injuries hampered Robin Van Persie for much of his life at Arsenal, but we all know how Manchester United's gamble on the Dutchman has been working out. If Rossi's fit, he's a game changer. He's also a player with a lot to prove. He could be an incredible signing for the Gigliati.

Anyway, injuries aren't what will stop this pair becoming the peninsula's most dynamic duo. It's Europe's biggest clubs who threaten to tear them apart before they've even had a chance to show us what might have been. 

Arsenal are reportedly desperate to win Jovetic's affections and are rumoured to have already made a £25 million bid. Juventus have been long-time admirers, and Manchester City are lurking around, too. And that's not even counting Napoli, who could have a lot of money to spend if Edinson Cavani moves on to pastures new. 

Vincenzo Montella will need a miracle to persuade Jovetic to stay. Fiorentina are a side in transition, with a talented young coach and a squad full of promise, not least in Adem Ljajic, who Jovetic has known since their Partizan days. But crucially, it's unlikely they'll be in the Champions League. And that's where Jovetic belongs. 

Given a couple of seasons, Montella might put together a team that can challenge on a continental level. Or he might not. His stock is on the rise and an offer might come that's too good to refuse. The league's getting stronger, and it won't be so easy for the Florentines to improve on their budget.

So what's Jovetic to do? The romantics among us will urge him to stay and complete an exquisite forward line with Rossi. But a leading role for a top Premier League side that competes in the Champions League is an offer no young striker could refuse. His new partner will know that better than anyone. 

Stevan Jovetic is a wanted man, and The Metro have continued the trend of linking the Fiorentina star to top English Premier League clubs in Arsenal and Manchester City.

The links between Roberto Mancini and Jovetic are longstanding, and many believed the upcoming summer to be one in which the Montengrin finally leaves the Artemio Franchi.

But this season under Vincenzo Montella has been nothing but a success, and the building blocks placed for a bright future in Florence may have Jovetic hanging around a little longer.

At the very least it will up his fee, as with him in the side, Montella will believe the Viola can challenge for the Serie A title and impact the UEFA Champions League—and rightly so.

Jovetic is the talisman in the system and, at just 23 years of age, can already be considered a world-class player.

He's developed his game rapidly over the last 12 months, moving from an attacking midfielder of sorts to an all-round forward capable of playing as many positions and roles as we have fingers.

Consider the fact that he missed the entire 2010-11 season with a cruciate knee injury and you cannot help but be impressed by the man's rapid ascension to football's elite.

He plays one of two different roles Montella has set out for him this season with regularity, and Fiorentina's recent flirtation with the 4-3-3 formation added a possible third.

For the large part, the Viola have operated in a 3-5-1-1 system that averages high-ball possession and excellent transitions across the field.

David Pizarro—the prototypical midfield metronome—teams up with Alberto Aquilani and Borja Valero extremely well to feed Montella's attacking players with regularity.

The front two changes depending on opposition, with Jovetic as the prima punta ahead of Adem Ljajic or Jovetic dropping into the hole behind target man Luca Toni.

The Montenegrin's understanding of the game is immense and clearly favours the freedom to drop in and out of the line and torment different defenders at different times, but Montella knows his strongest combination is the Ljajic-Jovetic connection.

This means the star man plays as a No. 9 but drifts wide and interchanges with Ljajic, who often plays from the left side and penetrates the box at will. With Juan Guillermo Cuadrado at right-wing-back, Ljajic's favouring of the left does not imbalance the Viola.

Jovetic is man who is just natural height and strength short of the "complete forward" label, and his ability to score thunderbolts from outside the area make his intricate dribbling and passing around the edge of the area even more lethal.

In the current market, Jovetic is worth £30 million (€35.22 million). That's a lot, but players of his calibre cost a lot. Unfortunately for City and Arsenal, such is the Viola's fantastic season, Jovetic may not even want to jump ship for one more year.

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These are interesting times for Fiorentina. The club's fortunes could go either way. On the one hand, there's been positive development this season and the addition of a striker like Giuseppe Rossi hints at ambition. On the other hand, Vincenzo Montella's fine work has won him many admirers, and there's plenty of rumours surrounding where the former Roma striker will be next autumn. 

It's a big change from last year's Viola. On the bench, both Sinisa Mihajlovic and then Delio Rossi looked helpless and hopeless and the Florence side looked very much like a sinking ship. Captain Riccardo Montolivo's departure to Milan seemed to emphasise the fact that this was a team going in the wrong direction. 

The arrival of the young coach from Catania's bench was the first positive sign that the Viola's board were working to stop the rot. L'Aeroplanino, or the little aeroplane, as Montella was known during his playing days, is one of Italy's most exciting young coaches, and landing his signature was seen as a coup. 

Serie A has been a fascinating spectacle this season and results have been hard to come by for every team. But despite stiff competition, Montella has moulded one of the peninsula's most feared outfits—with a fraction of the resources available to other coaches. 

This Fiorentina side is compact, well-organised and strives to play attractive football. On top of that, Montella has turned them into a side that expects to win. 

“We are very bitter," said the coach following their shock defeat to Bologna recently. "We were unable to bring home the result."

The 38-year-old then went on to stress the high standards he has set for both himself and his team. 

The goals came from mistakes, which were small but consecutive, and that is not good enough for a team that wants to aim high. We had controlled the game. We always want to give our best, but we have to understand whether this really is our best.

The sort of talk usually reserved for managers at Europe's most successful clubs is now regularly being heard coming from a team that only a decade ago had ceased to exist following bankruptcy. 

There's certainly enough talent in the squad to expect results. Since taking over the club, Andrea and Diego Della Valle—heirs to the lucrative Tod's fashion label—have invested wisely on the whole, returning Fiorentina to a position of stability and competitiveness in Italy's top flight. 

A mixture of youth and experience has made the Viola a strong unit on the whole, and individually, the likes of Stefan Savic, Stevan Jovetic, Borja Valero and Adem Ljajic are among the most exciting prospects in the country. 

Add them to seasoned veterans like Manuel Pasqual, Luca Toni—back scoring goals in purple after several forgettable seasons away from Florence—and David Pizarro, and you've got a formidable team. When Rossi returns to fitness, Montella will have a starting 11 good enough to challenge any in the division.

There are doubts about Fiorentina's prospects, however. Jovetic has been linked to Europe's top clubs—his international teammate, Mirko Vucinic, just invited him to join Juventus—and there's always the possibility that other young stars could be persuaded to leave in the summer.

Montella, likewise, might be lured away at the end of the season. He has been strongly linked to the Napoli job since last year, a possibility made more likely by the fact that the Azzurri boss Walter Mazzarri has still not signed a new contract. 

Napoli's coach is a contender to take over at Roma this summer, just like the Giallorossi's former striker, so events in the capital will likely have some effect on where Montella ends up. Should he leave, Fiorentina will need to make sure that all this season's momentum is not lost. 

Viola fans might be feeling some deja vu, because all of this has happened before. The future looked bright for Fiorentina in the recent past, when Cesare Prandelli was on the bench and they were challenging for Champions League qualification.

Prandelli, of course, left to take over the national side and so the slide began. This time, the Della Valle brothers must make sure they don't make the same mistake with Montella. And if they can avoid the pitfalls, the Florentines will be one of Italy's best sides in the years to come. 

Relax, Gervinho. You're not alone anymore.

Long-time readers of Set Piece will know we like to have our fun with Gervinho. Earlier this season, Arsenal's light-scoring, mistake-prone Ivorian forward fluffed a seemingly unmissable chance against Bradford City in the Capital One Cup. Not long afterwards, the Gunners crashed out to the fourth-tier side on penalties.

Anyway, like we said, Gervinho is no longer alone. Sort of.

On Tuesday, Bologna defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in Italy's Serie A, and Fiorentina's Juan Cuadrado missed a chance that was eerily similar to Gervinho's.

In the fifth minute, Adem Ljajic crossed from the right (much like Lukas Podolski did for Arsenal), and the ball made its way through to Cuadrado (Gervinho) at the back post.

Instead of redirecting the ball into the net, Cuadrado opened his body too much and sent it wide of the far post.

While it wasn't quite as bad (Gervinho's came against a fourth-tier team, after all), that's a textbook way to miss an easy chance.

Cuadrado, a 24-year-old Colombian international, has scored once in 25 league appearances this season (stats via WhoScored.com). We're not trying to pile on him here. It was just an astonishing miss.

The miss appears in the clip above, starting around the 0:30 mark. It's also our Set Piece Video of the Day for this Wednesday. Enjoy.

Ljajic opened the scoring for Fiorentina in the 27th minute, but Bologna turned around the deficit with second-half goals from Marco Motta (58') and Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (84'), who might as well go by the nickname spell-check.

The win lifted Bologna out of the relegation zone, but around here it will be remembered for Cuadrado's Gervinho-ian miss.

(h/t 101 Great Goals)

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The roller coaster ride at Inter continues. After a midweek clash in the Europa League saw them put in an impressive performance, the Nerazzurri were back to their old tricks in Serie A.

With only two wins in the league since they beat Napoli at the start of January, Andrea Stramaccioni's side were in desperate need of a win. 

Their rivals Sunday night were right on their heels in the race for Europe, and behind them, others were gaining fast. 

High-flying Catania had beaten Bologna, and an imperious performance from Roma—and an incredible strike from captain Francesco Totti—had sunk Juventus and earned the Giallorossi three unlikely points.

Another poor result would be disastrous for Inter. A team, which only three seasons ago was crowned the best in Europe, is now staring at the prospect of another year without a place at football's biggest event. 

The loss of Diego Milito against Cluj was a blow, no question. The Argentinian had rediscovered the sort of form that once made him one of Europe's most feared front men, and Stramaccioni would certainly have planned to see the striker play a starting role in the season's closing stages.

Milito joined other club stalwarts like Walter Samuel and Cristian Chivu on a growing injury list, but Fiorentina had looked lifeless against Juve the week before, and their best player, Stevan Jovetic, had been far from his best. The Nerazzurri travelled to Florence expecting to win. 

Vincenzo Montella had other plans. 

"Inter are in great shape and very strong," said the young tactician before the game, "but I am not worried. We have their same desire. A win could allow us to think about the season and ourselves in a different way."

Prophetic stuff from the former Roma striker. Jovetic put in the kind of performance not seen in a long time from the Montenegrin, scoring a brace. So too, did Adem Ljajic, the young Serbian striker Manchester United famously decided not to buy after a last-minute change of mind. 

The Florentines are now just two points off third place and the promised land of the Champions League. After the departure of Cesare Prandelli and the disappointing times under Siniša Mihajlovic and then Delio Rossi, it's been a while since things have looked so good in Tuscany.

The opposite is true of Milan. Another loss has heaped pressure on not only Stramaccioni, but on everyone at the club. Antonio Cassano grabbed a consolation for the visitors in the dying minutes, but it was nowhere near enough to spare their blushes. The Nerazzurri were as bad as the Viola were good, and there are now serious questions to be answered all around. 

Owner Massimo Moratti has been uncharacteristically patient with Strama, possibly because in this new Financial Fair Play world, the Italian knows that long-term success—both fiscally and on the pitch—is best built on youth. 

The 37-year-old Strama has shown promise thus far in his budding career. But then, so has Montella. The pair know each other well from their years spent at Roma, and because of their age, make for easy comparisons. 

By landing the Inter job, Strama seemed to have the head start. It's not every day someone so young is given the reins at one of Europe's biggest clubs, and it was seen as a massive show of faith from Moratti in a man destined to be the latest in a line of great Italian coaches. 

Montella, by contrast, has fought his way up. Rejected by Roma, he built an impressive squad at lowly Catania, leading them to their best ever finish. In fact, it seems that the work he did in Sicily is still bearing fruits, because the Elefanti are now just three points behind Montella's current side.

The man from Castello di Cisterna, a small town just outside of Naples, has done far more with a less talented—or expensive, at least—squad. And while Inter look like they might implode at any second, Fiorentina look like they have the potential to improve. 

Bologna and Chievo Verona now wait for the Viola, before a difficult visit to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. But if Montella's men can get something out of that result, they could quickly find themselves getting used to the rarefied air at the top end of the Serie A table. 

Inter, meanwhile, need improvements. Fast. They face cross-town rivals, Milan next, followed by a nightmare trip to the east coast of Sicily to play Catania. Both games are easily lost.

Unless their problems are identified and addressed in the next couple of days, they could find themselves below the Catanians in the table.

In fact, even eighth-placed Roma look likely to be above the Nerazzurri at this rate, because the Giallorossi have a relatively easy run of fixtures and have no doubt been given a confidence boost from the win against Juve. 

Stramaccioni's side are looking at a depressing downward spiral from here on in. For their fans' sake, let's hope the young coach can figure out how to stop it. 

Just 18 months ago, Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi was one of the names at the very top of FC Barcelona's "wanted list," with a move in excess of €25 million spoken about in the media. Two serious knee injuries later, the forward has instead just moved to Fiorentina for around €10 million.

While it might not be the move he was hoping for when he was at his peak, it could turn out to be a transfer that helps both player and club progress to the next level.

During 2010-11 season, Rossi was the star in a free-flowing, attack-minded Villarreal team that ended the campaign in fourth place in La Liga—good enough for a Champions League qualifying berth.

Rossi himself ended the season with 18 league goals from 36 games, and he totalled 32 in all competitions. Whether he had the role as a slightly withdrawn second striker, linking up play and then quickly moving himself into good scoring positions, or played in the main forward's role, two things were constant: His timing of runs inside the penalty area was exemplary, and Rossi's finishing hit a real high.

That success made the following season all the more of a letdown. A ruptured cruciate ligament saw him play just nine times in the league last season, netting three times.

The first time the injury struck was in the October of 2011, and six months, later he suffered the same fate. This second injury means he has now been out of action for well over a year altogether, and he is not expected to return to fitness before March.

Fiorentina then might have taken a big gamble in paying an eight-figure sum to take him to play in Serie A, but if it pays off, then they will have found themselves a relative bargain.

La Viola are an upwardly-progressing team who have recruited heavily, including one of Rossi's former Villarreal teammates in Borja Valero.

Valero has amassed eight league assists so far this season, and during 2010-11 (when Rossi his his 32 goals), he claimed 12 in all competitions, several for Rossi himself.

Those two, along with other quality players such as Stevan Jovetic and Alberto Aquilani, give Fiorentina a hugely exciting playing squad to look forward to seeing toward the end of this season or the start of next.

And if Rossi can recover his full fitness, along with his best form, then Fiorentina will suddenly have a 25-goal-a-season man to spearhead their attack. Should that happen, don't expect rumours of another €30 million move to be too far behind.

Follow @karlmatchett

Statistical data from TransferMarkt.co.uk

Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi has reportedly been transferred to Serie A side Fiorentina.

The 25-year-old Rossi has been a member of Spanish side Villarreal since 2007. Injuries have kept him off the pitch since October 2011.

FOX Soccer was one of the outlets that broke the news, tweeting this:

DONE DEAL! Giuseppe Rossi completes transfer move to Fiorentina from Villarreal. on-msn.com/XsqLhK

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 4, 2013

According to the Associated Press, Fiorentina paid Villarreal €9.5 million for the transfer, and Rossi's contract will be worth a little over €2 million a year.

He spent part of his early career with Manchester United before being sold to Villarreal.

Almost immediately Rossi made himself invaluable to the Yellow Submarine. Prior to the 2011/12 season, he had scored double digits in goals, peaking in 2010/11 when he found the net 18 times in 35 Serie A games.

It was after that season that Rossi got himself on the radar of some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Then the injury came along and blunted much of the momentum he built up in previous seasons.

Upon getting close to full health, it was only a matter of time before Rossi made a move out of the El Madrigal. Villarreal was relegated to the Segunda Division last season.

Fiorentina will be looking to form a nice partnership between Rossi and Stevan Jovetic, who leads the club with eight league goals.

The striker could also provide the necessary push the Viola need to hold on to the third spot in the Serie A table, thus qualifying for the Champions League.