The transfer window closed with Moise Kean still a Fiorentina striker, still without a Serie A goal in 2026-27, and now watching a squad that has added Pedro Goncalves, Wilfried Gnonto, and Beto take shape around him. The Como move that had been the most plausible exit route did not happen. Kean, 26, is here for the foreseeable future — which is not the same as being central to it.
Fiorentina's position makes the situation acute. Fabio Grosso's side sit 19th in Serie A after two matches, with no points, no goals scored, and seven conceded. That is not a context in which a forward carrying an average rating of 6.63 across his league appearances this season can afford to be peripheral. It is also not a context in which a club can afford sentiment over selection. The two pressures pull in opposite directions, and Kean is caught between them.
His one assist in Serie A this season is evidence of engagement, not irrelevance. But Grosso has publicly framed this as a project requiring patience, and the late arrivals of Goncalves and Beto suggest the club's vision of that project does not have Kean at its centre. Beto, a striker by trade, arrived from Everton. His presence alone redefines the competition for a starting place in the most direct terms possible.
Kean did score in the Coppa Italia this season — one goal in one appearance in that competition — which at least confirms his sharpness has not deserted him entirely. But Coppa Italia minutes are not what he needs. He needs Serie A goals, and he needs them before Grosso's patience with the current forward options runs out and the new arrivals cement their places.
The bookmakers, for what it is worth, do not believe Fiorentina will be relegated despite the catastrophic start. That gives Grosso some room to build. Whether Kean is part of what gets built, or simply present while it happens, is the question the next few weeks will answer.