Ever since Rocco Commisso bought Fiorentina , he’s always loved bringing in a well-known player who was young when the hills of Fiesole were still undersea plains. Franck Ribéry, Borja Valero, José Callejón, Salvatore Sirigu, and Antonio Rosati are the members of this hallowed brotherhood, but a new man may join them. Step forward, Edin Džeko.
The 39-year-old Bosnian legend is a free agent after wrapping up a stint with Fenerbahçe and clearly doesn’t feel like he’s done, angling for a 2-year contract, which means he would be the astonishing age of 41 at its conclusion. If he ends up joining Fiorentina, his first competitive appearance would make him the oldest player to ever pull on the shirt; Angelo di Livio was a couple months shy of 39 in his final game back in 2005.
Džeko isn't just a novelty act based on his age, though. He scored 14 goals and provided 4 assists in the Süper Lig (21 goals and 8 assists overall), averaging a goal every 155 minutes across all competitions; that's better than Albert Guðmundsson, Lucas Beltrán, or any other Fiorentina players not named Moise Kean. The Süper Lig is certainly a step or two below Serie A, so the numbers aren't entirely comparable, but Opta's numbers suggest that the old guy’s still pretty spry.
With a wealth of Serie A experience—5 years at AS Roma and 2 at Inter Milan —he knows the language and the league, so the concerns about a social fit are minimal. The real question is what sort of role he’s been promised; Kean is obviously the starter and will play the overwhelming majority of minutes, but we saw what happened to the Viola attack when the Moose wasn’t available last year, and that’s where Džeko would step in.
He ran out of gas last year, scoring just twice in the final 3 months of the Süper Lig season, and his interest in Fiorentina clearly indicates that he’s comfortable transitioning to a smaller role. He’s still big and strong and clever in the box, which could make him a successful Plan B when the team needs a late goal. He’d also start some games, particularly in the Coppa Italia and the Conference League, to ensure that Kean stays fresh.
While the knee-jerk reaction is to criticize Pradè and company for lacking imagination, this could be a very good signing, especially if it’s got Stefano Pioli’s blessing. The putative new coach has plenty of experience using a big, immobile striker from his time at AC Milan (Zlatan Ibrahimović, Olivier Giroud) and understands how to tailor a system to get the most out of that profile.
Džeko's salary at Fenerbahçe was a staggering €7 million before taxes, and it would obviously have to decrease significantly. However, his status as a free agent means he would still be one of the club's highest earners. He has taken good care of himself and remains in top condition, having missed just a single game due to injury in the past couple of years. There is always the risk that a player of his age could suddenly decline in form, but if he hasn't yet, there's no reason to think he can't continue to play at a reasonable level for a little while longer.
Bologna thinks so , at least, and has also offered him a 1-year deal with an option for another; if you’ve been impressed with the Rossoblu scouting, then you’d have to be pleased that Fiorentina could well pip them to a useful player. More importantly, though, Džeko would be a wonderful addition because he would, for the first time since Rosati’s retirement, mean that there’s a Viola player older than me , and that is very important.
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