Moise Kean insists he is ‘mentally strong’ and ready to improve on his Juventus form with a move to Fiorentina, convinced by Raffaele Palladino’s ‘attacking’ ideas and a bet with Dodo.
The centre-forward made the move from Juve to their bitter rivals for €13m plus €5m in add-ons and it is quite rare for players to go in that direction, causing some controversy among the fans.
Having shown so much promise as a teenager, now Kean is 24 years old and seems to have taken steps backwards in recent seasons.
“Every year I want to do more. I had a lot of injuries last season and it didn’t go well, now I can and must firstly prove more to myself, then to Fiorentina who believed in me,” said Kean in a press conference.
“History says Fiorentina always had great strikers, but I see that as motivation rather than pressure. I am very strong mentally, you must be able to create the right moment and be ready to take it. Every bad moment is a lesson to learn.”
There were reports that Kean had made a bet with one of his new teammates at Fiorentina, but he revealed it was not about goals so much as the service.
“I bet with Dodo that if he gives me eight assists this season, I’ll pay for him to go on vacation. I am ambitious, I cannot say the number of goals I set myself, as that is personal.”
Kean hopes to find form at Fiorentina
Part of the problem with Kean’s career is that he is not a natural centre-forward, just as capable of playing on the right or the left, so he never quite found his ideal role.
“As long as I get the ball, I honestly don’t mind! I scored more goals as a striker than a winger, but it makes little real difference, as long as I give a contribution to the team.”
A big part of his decision to come to the Stadio Franchi was the talk with new coach Palladino, who impressed over the last two seasons at Monza.
“The coach talked to me about his way of playing and really convinced me. He did so well at Monza and this is what I was looking for, an attacking team that gives a lot of service to the strikers.”
He did get advice from his former Fiorentina teammates at Juventus, Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa.
“Dusan spoke very highly of Florence, it’s a beautiful city with so much passion. I don’t feel the weight of expectation, I just want to give the fans joy, play football and win.”
100% will flop