Palladino always believed in Kean promise at Fiorentina | OneFootball

Raffaele Palladino reveals how long he has believed in Moise Kean’s capabilities and why he is ‘not looking at the table’ now Fiorentina are temporarily on top.

There were no doubts over who would get the Serie A Man of the Match award, because Moise Kean bagged all three goals in the Viola’s 3-1 victory over Hellas Verona.

It was his first ever hat-trick in one of the top five League tournaments, having played in Serie A, the Premier League and Ligue 1, taking his tally to 11 goals in 14 competitive games this season.

To make it even more special, Italy coach Luciano Spalletti was in the stands to watch the performance ahead of the Nations League ties with Belgium and France.

Palladino an early Kean fan

FLORENCE, ITALY – NOVEMBER 10: Moise Kean of ACF Fiorentina celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Verona at Stadio Artemio Franchi on November 10, 2024 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

“I will not deny that I already wanted Kean when I was at Monza,” revealed Palladino in his press conference.

“I saw him as a great striker who has it all. He just needs to continue like this and stay in good shape physically, the rest is just the fruits of his daily work in training and the help from his team.

“Everyone attacked and defended together today, which was not easy, as Verona were focused on the counter-attack.”

Fiorentina are on fire at the moment, as while they were beaten 2-1 in Nicosia by APOEL in the Conference League on Thursday evening when rotating the squad, this was their sixth consecutive Serie A victory.

It put them temporarily top of the table on 25 points, the same as Atalanta and awaiting tonight’s showdown Napoli too.

“Whether we stay in that position depends on us, how we train, our attitude, the intensity and spirit we put into every match,” continued Palladino.

“The squad is competitive and we want to continue growing. I don’t care about the table right now and I am not looking at it.

“What we are searching for is maturity, because Serie A is not easy, you can be up against teams who attack and others who defend with four or five men. It takes patience to unpick that lock, along with intelligence and maturity. We struggled a little in the first half, but dominated the second.”

Defender Pietro Comuzzo received his first call-up for the senior Italy squad ahead of the Nations League matches against Belgium and France.

“It was strange that he was in the Under-20 side and then skipped the Under-21 level entirely. He had always worked well, but the hard stuff comes now and I told him he’s just got to keep working the same way.”

Palladino had a special dedication to Jonathan Ikone, who was absent following a death in the family.