Former Argentina international Pedro Pasculli is convinced Nicolas Gonzalez ‘will go to the Premier League’ after Leicester City submitted a £30 million bid for the Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United target, speaking to Radio Sportiva.
During Saturday’s insipid 2-0 defeat to Midland rivals Nottingham Forest, Brendan Rodgers’ fumbling Foxes looked like a team crying out for inspiration and a sprinkling unpredictability.
Leicester have lost every single post-World Cup game in the absence of injured talisman James Maddison, lacking incision and thrust without the former Norwich City ace.
The way Leicester have plummeted right back into relegation contention in recent weeks perhaps explains the sudden emergence of those Gonzalez links; Gianluca di Marzio reporting that a £30 million bid arrived at Fiorentina from the King Power Stadium last week.
Per 90Min, there is a confidence at Leicester that Gonzalez is keen to join. That is despite interest from an out-of-sorts but still better-positioned Tottenham Hotspur, and Eddie Howe’s Champions League-chasing Newcastle.
And Pasculli, a World Cup-winner in 1986, believes it’s only a matter of time before Gonzalez is shining in England.
“As far as I know and from what they tell me, 90 per cent of it is done. He will go to the Premier League. A very rich league, the number one in Europe,” Pasculli claims.
“He’s ready to go and play in England.”
Will Nicolas Gonzalez leave Fiorentina for Leicester City?
A left-footed right winger in the Riyad Mahrez mould; Gonzalez scored eight goals and set up nine more during an excellent debut season at Fiorentina in 2021/22. In contrast to Pasculli, however, the Viola bosses continue to play down reports suggesting the one-time Stuttgart schemer could be on his way to England this month, although wary Fiorentina supporters will remember that similar claims were made about Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic in the recent past.
And we all know how that turned out.
“I can confirm both players (Gonzalez and the Liverpool-linked Sofyan Amrabat) are not for sale. End of story. I am confirming it tonight; Amrabat and Gonzalez are not for sale,” Fiorentina director Joe Barone insists (DAZN).
“Gonzalez is recovering (from injury). He’s training well, scored in the last match. We are happy with his progress, and are happy with the whole team.”
But money talks, as they say.
Fiorentina’s resistance crumbled when arch-rivals Juventus submitted big-money bids for Chiesa and Vlahovic. And Leicester’s increasingly precarious situation – coupled with rising fan pressure – means the Foxes are unlikely to accept defeat so easily in their pursuit of Gonzalez.
According to Corriere Fiorentino, Gonzalez has a price-tag of around £35 million.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
