Fiorentina warn ‘conditions not right’ to sell Nico Gonzalez to Juventus | OneFootball

Fiorentina director general Alessandro Ferrari prepares for the Conference League play-off with Puksas Akademika and warns they do ‘not have the right conditions’ to sell Nico Gonzalez to Juventus yet.

It kicks off at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence at 19.00 UK time (18.00 GMT). You can check the official line-ups here.

The second leg is next Thursday to decide who goes into the tournament proper.

Fiorentina have been such a strong presence in the last two editions of the trophy, reaching the Final in 2023 and 2024, losing to West Ham United and Olympiacos.

“We start this season with many changes, from the coach to the tactical system, some players who already arrived, others who are coming. We want to improve what we did last season,” Ferrari told Sky Sport Italia.

“The Conference League is an experience that gave us a lot, and an opportunity for the future. The play-offs were tough last year, so we hope to do well from the start.”

They give David De Gea his debut after sitting on the bench for the 1-1 Serie A draw to Parma at the weekend, making it the goalkeeper’s first competitive appearance in 446 days, since Manchester United’s FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester City.

There is also a change to a three-man defence, with Lucas Beltran thrown into the starting XI as a centre-forward after returning from Argentina’s participation at the Paris Olympics.

Nico Gonzalez shadow cast over Fiorentina

However, Nico Gonzalez is not in the squad yet again, as negotiations continue with Juventus for the transfer. What exactly is the situation with the player?

“The situation is that there are eight days to go in the transfer window. Right now, we don’t have the right conditions to make the transfer, so we’ll see what happens. We are missing the basic foundations of the deal,” added the Fiorentina chief.

“We’d be very happy to keep Nico, so we have no need to sell. We’ll see what happens, but we are very, very relaxed and are waiting to see if the right conditions emerge.”

Ferrari was pushed on whether the asking price is a total of €40m including add-ons.

“I cannot say.”