Moise Kean, Fiorentina's first-choice striker, enters the club's centenary pre-season as the fixed point in a squad that has shifted considerably around him — most visibly with the arrival of Franco Mastantuono on loan from Real Madrid, a signing that signals genuine ambition from the Viola hierarchy even as the club's number ten shirt becomes the subject of a public dispute.
The significance for Kean is structural. Fiorentina finished 14th in Serie A last season with 42 points from 38 matches, a record of nine wins, fifteen draws and fourteen defeats that reflects a side capable of holding its own but not yet capable of winning consistently. Kean contributed eight goals and one assist across 26 appearances, carrying a season average rating of 6.70 — numbers that made him the team's most reliable attacking presence in a campaign where the collective struggled to score, conceding more than they created across the full season. That output, in context, was load-bearing.
The club's decision to retire the number ten for the centenary season has drawn a sharp public response from Fiorentina legend Giancarlo Antognoni, whose displeasure adds an unwanted distraction to what should be a celebratory moment. Mastantuono, the Argentine talent arriving from Madrid, will not wear the shirt. The political noise around the number is unlikely to touch Kean directly, but it speaks to a club navigating its own identity at a delicate moment.
On the pitch, Fiorentina drew 1-1 against Deportivo La Coruña in their final pre-season fixture, with Issa Ndour scoring for the Viola. The result itself matters less than what it confirms: Fabio Grosso is managing the pre-season squad, with Kean among those involved as the club prepares for the new campaign under head coach Paolo Vanoli.
Kean's AI overall rating of 67 out of 100 suggests a player operating close to his current ceiling — which, for a 26-year-old, raises the question of whether Vanoli's system can unlock the remaining margin. Eight goals in 26 Serie A appearances is a respectable return for a side that scored only 41 times all season, but it is not the output of a striker who dominates. Mastantuono's arrival in the attacking third will demand more of Kean, not less — a more mobile, more combinative role that either elevates him or exposes the limits the data already hints at.
Fiorentina are also monitoring Samuel Pellegrino, with the club reportedly interested alongside Juventus. Whether that pursuit is about depth or a longer-term reconfiguration of the attack, it places Kean's position in a squad context that is still being written. For now, he is the striker Fiorentina built around. The centenary season will test whether that was enough of a foundation.