Fiorentina’s long pause in the calendar is becoming a useful stretch for Arthur Atta, with the French midfielder now back in full training and moving closer to a central role in Paolo Vanoli’s plans.
Atta joined his team-mates for the entire afternoon session yesterday after Fiorentina had worked on physical conditioning in the morning. The next ten days, before Serie A resumes, are intended to bring the 23-year-old up to full match sharpness after the fitness problems that slowed his first weeks in purple.
Quick facts
- Arthur Atta has returned to full team training at Fiorentina.
- The 23-year-old Frenchman arrived from Udinese in July.
- Fiorentina paid €25 million plus bonuses, with Udinese retaining a 30% future-sale clause.
- The clause can be lowered to 10% through an agreed additional payment.
- Paolo Vanoli is considering Atta in the attacking-midfield position of his 4-2-3-1.
- Atta is presently ahead of Pedro Gonçalves in the contest for the place behind the striker.
The break had been identified by Vanoli as an important period for integrating a player regarded internally as one of the squad’s highest-value assets. Atta had begun the campaign below his usual level physically, but his progress in training has encouraged the club ahead of the restart.
Vanoli is weighing up a more advanced use for the Rennes-born midfielder, placing him in the centre of the attacking line in the 4-2-3-1 tested against Napoli. In that role, Atta could connect Njie’s forward dribbling with Mastantuono’s movement into central spaces.
The coach sees value in Atta’s ability to operate in tight areas, arrive in the box and offer opponents fewer fixed reference points. It is a significant position in Fiorentina’s attacking construction, and the staff are working on the details of his introduction there.
Pedro Gonçalves remains another option behind the centre-forward, but Atta currently has the edge. His physical condition has improved markedly compared with that of his Portuguese team-mate, while his creative instincts could add another variable to an already talented attacking department.
A major investment
Fiorentina’s desire to find the right role for Atta also reflects the scale of their summer commitment. The club bought him outright from Udinese for €25 million plus bonuses, while accepting that the Friuli side would receive 30% of a future transfer fee.
That percentage may eventually be reduced to 10% if Fiorentina make a further payment under the agreement between the clubs. For now, the priority is sporting: to develop a player the Viola believe has substantial talent and to put him in a setting suited to his qualities.
Atta has made clear that he was convinced by the move from the moment Fiorentina approached him. “When Fiorentina came for me, there was no hesitation,” he said earlier this season. “I did not let outside factors affect me; I immediately felt it was the correct choice.”
His ambition also fits the possible move nearer goal. Asked whether he preferred scoring or providing assists, Atta said he would choose goals, while stressing that Fiorentina’s result mattered above all else. The coming days offer Vanoli the chance to turn that determination into a fuller part in the season’s next chapter.
