Fiorentina have reportedly approached Sassuolo coach Roberto De Zerbi with a proposal to take over from Beppe Iachini next season.

According to the Resto del Carlino newspaper, there is a contract worth €1.4m per season ready and waiting for De Zerbi at the Stadio Franchi.

It would be yet another change for the Viola, who already fired Vincenzo Montella in December to bring in Iachini.

De Zerbi has long been linked with a bigger club after his impressive results with Sassuolo.

Fiorentina director Daniele Pradè assures Federico Chiesa, Gaetano Castrovilli or any of the other Viola stars ‘have not asked to leave.’

The transfer speculation has been dragging on for months already, with Juventus and Inter leading the way.

“If any player wants to leave, then he can come to us and we’ll talk about it,” Pradè told Rai Sport.

Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini also had COVID-19, confirms President Rocco Commisso. ‘He has all my support.’

The coronavirus spread through the Viola squad and staff, affecting around a dozen people, although not all of them were named.

These included members of the medical staff, director Daniele Pradè, players Dusan Vlahovic, Patrick Cutrone and more.

“Our coach was also ill over the last few months and I didn’t know that,” Commisso said at today’s press conference.

Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso confirms he ‘won’t stand in the way’ of Federico Chiesa joining Juventus, ‘as long as the price is right’.

Commisso had always maintained that Chiesa would not follow Federico Bernardeschi and Roberto Baggio to Juve, who are traditionally Fiorentina’s arch-rivals, but he has now softened his stance. 

“Chiesa has to make a decision and, if he wants to leave, I won’t stand in his way, as long as the price is right,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini warns resuming training after May 4 will not be quite so simple. “It’ll be anything except football, especially at the start.”

Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed today that May 4 is the pencilled-in date to loosen restrictions around the coronavirus pandemic, including the resumption of training for professional athletes.

Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini has claimed players will need ‘three to four weeks’ of training before they can resume and said Italy are going through the ‘hardest moment since the war’.

The Viola are one of the Serie A clubs who confirmed cases of coronavirus in their squad and Iachini has pointed out that the current crisis makes it ‘difficult to think about football’.

Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini gave an update on the three players who tested positive for coronavirus. “Fortunately, their symptoms disappeared quickly.”

Dusan Vlahovic was the first member of the squad to be confirmed with COVID-19, quickly followed by Patrick Cutrone, German Pezzella and a couple of staff members.

“Our players are fine at the moment. Those who tested positive for the virus had a few symptoms, but fortunately those disappeared quickly,” Iachini told news agency ANSA.

Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini “liked the attitude” from his team in a goalless draw with Udinese, but struggled amid the “uncertainty.”

The game was played behind closed doors, rescheduled from last week, and the Viola had the best chance when hitting the woodwork with Nikola Milenkovic.

“The lads did well, considering it was behind closed doors and the quality of the opposition,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.

Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini warned their trip to Udinese behind closed doors will “feel like anything but a football match, so we’re working to get the concentration this fixture deserves.”

It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.

This game was called off a week ago, just hours before it had been due to kick off and with the squad practically on their way to the stadium.

Fiorentina have revealed that Franck Ribery has returned to training with the rest of the group to give Beppe Iachini a boost ahead of an tough run-in.

The Viola winger has been out since he injured his ankle against Lecce in November and the issue required surgery in mid-December.

Franck Ribery arrived at the Artemio Franchi from Bayern Munich last summer and after 11 seasons at the Allianz-Arena in Bavaria, he has only played 11 games in Serie A for his new team in Florence.