Fabio Paratici refuses to rule out Moise Kean’s summer exit, but insists Fiorentina want to retain Cher Ndour and are interested in Luca Koleosho.

Paratici held a press conference at the Viola Park on Thursday to discuss the Tuscans’ plans for the summer transfer window.

“The ownership is very strong; it wants to build a competitive and lasting Fiorentina over the years. I want to emphasise these two words: competitive and lasting,” he said via LaViola.it.

“The ownership, I add, needs time. Things don’t happen in two weeks. It takes time to build lasting and competitive things.”

Paratici had met with Kean’s agent on Wednesday.

“We are in a transfer window. There are discussions with the footballers and their entourages. It’s a normal thing. I’m definitely not here to tell you the whole truth of what we say to each other with players and their entourage during this transfer window, to be honest,” Paratici said.

“As for Kean, he is absolutely a heritage of Italian football and Fiorentina. Everyone knows how fond I am of him; I watched him grow from when he was nine years old until the Champions League.

“I’ve also already sold him once under my management. I am as fond of him as I am of all the footballers I have had. But we are in a market period. We hope and want him to be our No.9. But all football clubs are not masters of their fate on the market, apart from the top five or six in the world.

“I believe it is a sincere and realistic response for our fans. First of all, because it takes respect, but also to educate people about what’s happening in the world of the market and football in general.”

Fiorentina parted ways with coach Paolo Vanoli a few weeks ago and hired Fabio Grosso.

“Grosso was the only candidate. We liked the profile and everything that follows,” Paratici said.

Fiorentina have not won a trophy in over 20 years.

“You always need a minimum correlation between dream and goal. They should be as closely related as possible,” noted Paratici.

“Yesterday my son, who plays football, told me his dream is to play in the World Cup. I told him that if his goal is to play in the World Cup, we risk getting disappointed. It’s best if we set a realistic goal and a dream that’s close to it. That’s not to say you don’t want to try to win. But the dream remains a dream and a goal becomes a goal.”

Fiorentina failed to qualify for European competitions in 2025-26, does Paratici fear the club has lost appeal?

“No, Fiorentina have not lost appeal. The clubs have not lost appeal. Liverpool didn’t win for 20 years, and all the footballers wanted to go there. Manchester United haven’t won in so many years, but ask any footballer if they don’t want to go play for them.

“The clubs are historic; they have their own historic relevance regardless of the sporting result. Then it’s clear that if you play the Champions League, you’re more attractive.”

U21 Italy international Ndour has been linked with Juventus, but Paratici is not considering selling him, contrary to Dodo.

“Ndour is at the heart of Fiorentina’s project, absolutely,” Paratici said.

“He’s just getting started; he needs to confirm himself. This is another point I would like to emphasise, not only for Fiorentina but for Italian football. We cannot beatify players after twelve matches. We can have a positive or negative impression. We don’t even have to crucify them.

“We need to find a balance. Ndour had a very good second half of the season. He’s growing. We expect him to improve even further next season.

“Dodo is 28 years old and has legitimate ambitions. Like Fiorentina have them. We’ll see what happens in the next few days or months.”

During an interview with Sky Sport Italia, Paratici also confirmed interest in Burnley-owned Koleosho: “Everyone likes good players. Koleosho is a good player, like others in the U21 team,” Paratici concluded.

Paratici took charge of Fiorentina in February 2026 so this is the first transfer window he’ll oversee at the Stadio Franchi.

Belgium vs Egypt takes place this evening in the opening World Cup Group G fixture, with two of Serie A’s most recognisable names expected to start for the Red Devils.

Kevin De Bruyne, who joined Napoli last summer, lines up alongside Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere in what is a formidable Belgian attacking unit.

Romelu Lukaku, Koni De Winter and Alexis Saelemaekers all start on the bench for Belgium.

Former Atalanta full-back Timothy Castagne also starts, having spent three seasons in Bergamo between 2017 and 2020 before departing for the Premier League.

For Egypt, Mohamed Salah, who had two separate Serie A spells with Fiorentina and Roma between 2014 and 2017 before his famous move to Liverpool, leads the line as his nation’s talisman and one of the tournament’s most anticipated individual performers.

Belgium vs Egypt – World Cup 2026 Lineups

Belgium: Courtois, Meunier, Ngoy, Mechele, Castagne, Onana, Tielemans, Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku, De Ketelaere
Egypt: Shobeir, Hany, Ibrahim, Fathy, Fatouh, Lashin, Attia, Ashour, Zico, Salah, Marmoush

Fiorentina are reviving their pursuit of two players with Serie A pedigree currently playing abroad, with sporting director Fabio Paratici targeting both Radu Dragusin and Matteo Ruggeri as he looks to strengthen the defence this summer.

According to Gazzetta, both players are of interest to the Viola as they look to recover from an overall disappointing 25/26 campaign.

Dragusin, a Tottenham centre-back with a background in Serie A, was already a target during the January window when Fiorentina attempted to prise him away from Spurs.

Ruggeri’s Atletico Madrid price tag matches Dragusin valuation as Fiorentina weigh double move

The relationship between the two clubs remains strong given Paratici’s years working in north London before returning to Italy in February, and that connection could prove valuable in any renewed negotiation.

Tottenham’s valuation of around €20 million, however, remains the primary obstacle to a deal being struck.

Ruggeri, a left-back with a long history at Atalanta now playing for Atletico Madrid in Spain, is valued at a similar figure of around €20 million.

Both deals would represent significant outlays for Fiorentina, particularly if pursued simultaneously, but Paratici’s familiarity with both players’ clubs and his existing relationships could prove decisive as the Viola look to overhaul multiple defensive positions ahead of the new season.

Reports in Italy claim that new Juventus director Giovanni Carnevali intends to build a solid core of Italian players at the Allianz Stadium, so he’s targeted Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa and Giovanni Leoni as well as Fiorentina’s Cher Ndour.

La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport report that one of the targets of new Juventus director Carnevali will be to sign more Italian players than in the past to help coach Luciano Spalletti build a strong identity next season.

Juventus target Liverpool’s Chiesa and Leoni

According to Gazzetta, two of the Bianconeri’s targets for the summer play at Liverpool, as Carnevali has set his sights on both Chiesa and Leoni.

Chiesa has already admitted he did not want to leave Juventus in 2024 and said he’s open to returning to the Allianz Stadium.

Leoni, on the other hand, had an unfortunate debut season at Liverpool, suffering a cruciate ligament injury in his first game, which sidelined him for the entire campaign.

According to Gazzetta, Juventus are also keeping a close eye on Fiorentina’s Ndour, who has recently made his senior Italy debut under Silvio Baldini, and Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi, who might reunite with Carnevali after spending his entire career at Sassuolo.

Gazzetta notes that Fiorentina see Ndour as a key player for their future, while Juventus could offer Fabio Miretti in a player-plus-cash swap.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Fiorentina are pursuing Burnley winger Luca Koleosho and Leicester City centre-back Caleb Okoli as they aim to strengthen their core of Italian players for the 2026-27 season.

Fiorentina sporting director Fabio Paratici and General Manager Alessandro Ferrari have flown to New York to meet President Giuseppe Commisso and draw up the transfer plans for the summer.

Fiorentina interested in Koleosho and Okoli

According to Gazzetta, one of Fiorentina’s targets is to increase the number of Italian players in their team and have now set their sights on Koleosho and Okoli.

Koleosho spent the last six months of the 2025-26 campaign on loan at Paris FC but is set to return to Burnley, who have been relegated to the English Championship.

Koleosho recently made his senior Italy debut with the Italy national team, starting in June 2026 friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece under interim coach Silvio Baldini.

According to Gazzetta, Leicester City defender Okoli, a former Frosinone and Atalanta centre-back, is also on Fiorentina’s radar and is valued at €10m.