New Fiorentina head coach Fabio Grosso has omitted seven senior players from the club’s first pre-season squad as he begins reshaping the team following last season’s struggles. The Serie A side confirmed that 29 players will report for training at Viola Park on Monday, but several established names are missing from the list.
Germany international Robin Gosens and midfielder Jacopo Fazzini are the most prominent exclusions. They are joined by Riccardo Sottil, M’Bala Nzola, Amir Richardson, Antonin Barak and Paolo Bianco in being left out of the group. The club also confirmed that young striker Riccardo Braschi will spend the upcoming campaign on loan at Padova.
Left-back Fabiano Parisi will train separately as he continues recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Defender Marin Pongracic has been granted extended leave following his appearances for Croatia at the World Cup. Meanwhile, Alex Jimenez is expected to join the squad once his transfer from Bournemouth is finalised.
Fresh start after survival struggle
The exclusions signal the start of a significant restructuring under Grosso, who inherits a side that spent much of last season in the relegation zone before securing Serie A survival with a late surge. Several of the omitted players are returning from loan spells and are not expected to remain at the club.
The decision to leave out experienced figures such as Gosens indicates a major change in direction. Grosso appears to be prioritising a new approach after the previous campaign’s difficulties, which saw the Viola avoid the drop only in the final weeks.
What happens next
The 29 selected players will begin preparations at the Viola Park complex in Florence on Monday. The club has been active in the transfer market and further arrivals are anticipated before the window closes.
Those excluded will likely seek moves elsewhere, with the loan arrangement for Braschi already confirmed. The status of the other omitted players remains uncertain, though they appear to have no future under the new regime.