Senegalese striker Khouma Babacar has had a fantastic start to the 2014/15 Serie A season, making up for Fiorentina’s subpar summer transfer window.
When Daniele Prade finalised the signings of both Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gomez in the summer of 2013, it undoubtedly looked like a touch of genius. There is no doubt that Gomez and Rossi possess years of experience at European level and international level, and were signed to lead the lines for the Fiorentina. The names were big, but investing €24 million on both players remained a major gamble.
Rossi’s talent is undisputable, but his injury problems remain a major hurdle in his career. The former Villareal man has had consistent knee problems since rupturing his cruciate ligament back in 2012, an injury that kept him out of action for an astounding 559 days.
On the other hand, Gomez was a player who lost his starting spot to Mario Mandzukic at Bayern Munich, and was on the peripherals of the treble-winning side in 2012/13. In fact, one of the sole reasons for his demotion to the bench was missing the opening 12 games of the Bundesliga season through injury.
The fact was that both players experienced an injury-plagued 2013/14 season, with Gomez picking up an injury in mid-September and Giuseppe Rossi having knee issues during the second-half of the season, it was up to the board — especially Prade — to address such issues in the transfer window.
The former Roma sporting director though, failed to address the side’s striker problems. Fiorentina’s lack of planning had let them down once more as Gomez was ruled out for three weeks for a knock picked up against Atalanta, whilst Rossi’s knee injuries persisted, ruling him out of action until December.
This left Vincezo Montella with no choice but to rely on Babacar. The 20-year-old spent both 2013/14 and 2012/13 out on loan to Modena and Padova respectively, where he scored a staggering 20 goals in 39 appearances in his stint with the Canarini.
An even more staggering fact is that Babacar was linked with a move away from Fiorentina in the summer, with German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt reportedly interested in the player.
As expected, Vincezo Montella’s men experienced goalscoring problems at the start of the Serie A season, succumbing to a 2–0 loss to Roma, drawing with Genoa and Sassuolo 0–0, and managing one win against Atalanta by a score of 1–0.
However, Babacar managed to display why former coach Cesare Prandelli allowed him to train with the first-team at only 16 years old and why several clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal were once chasing his signature.
With Vincezo Montella’s men trailing Torino at the Stadio Olimpico, Babacar managed to find an equaliser in the dying minutes to rescue a point for La Viola. One week later, Babacar was once again on target against Inter — scoring with an audacious long-range shot, which found the top corner — in Fiorentina’s 3–0 demolition of the Nerazzurri.
In short, the striking prodigy is currently leading the lines for Fiorentina in the absence of their main goal-scorers. His performances are bailing the club out after poor management during the summer transfer window in which the club failed to recruit replacements for the duo. For Fiorentina’s sake, long may Babacar shoulder the weight of Prade’s shortsightedness.
You can follow Ahmed Assem on Twitter at: @CalcioTown
