Fiorentina’s trophy-winning 2023-2024 Primavera team is completely gone

The 2023-2024 Primavera team from Fiorentina, which won the Coppa Italia, has completely disappeared from the club. None of the 28 young players who made competitive appearances that year remain at Fiorentina. The article argues that this player turnover curtails development and puts everyone involved in a bad situation. The team is ignored because many of the players haven't signed professional terms yet.

Instead, the focus is on a previous trophy-winning Primavera team from 2023-2024. Among the players who made appearances for that team, only Pietro Comuzzo has proved he's ready for Serie A. Others like Niccolò Fortini, Eddy Kouadio, and others have shown they could be top Serie B-level players, potentially able to play for Serie A teams.

The article questions why Fiorentina moved on from these young talents 28 months after their victory. It notes that many of these deals are loans or contain buy-back clauses, meaning Fiorentina has outsourced its development to other clubs. This arrangement allows those clubs to play the players immediately for financial gain, undermining the club that holds the buyback clause.

The logic may make sense financially, but it doesn't justify the potential loss of useful squad players. Even if the academy players aren't quite ready, they're usually on first professional contracts earning under a million euros a year. If they're not ready, that's fine; they're usually emergency backups. The article suggests that Fiorentina's purpose of the academy is to provide hope and a sense of connection for fans.

The hope is twofold: the limitless potential of unknown youngsters and the assurance that the club is developing players well. Additionally, the academy grounds the club in its place, which is harder to track for global fans.