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Castrovilli: 'I want No10 at Fiorentina'

  /  autty

Playmaker Gaetano Castrovilli has revealed his ‘dream’ of wearing the No10 shirt at the Artemio Franchi, predicts a bright future at Fiorentina and vowed to ‘work hard and sacrifice’ himself for the cause.

The 23-year-old has been linked with the top clubs in Italy but seems set on continuing at Fiorentina after revealing a ‘natural connection’ to Florence.

“It would be a dream to play with the No10,” he told the Corriere della Sera. “It’s a magic shirt in general and in Florence it’s even more special, considering the greats who wore it, starting with Antognoni who still is, and rightly so, an institution here today.

“The city is wonderful and has welcomed me. I feel very close to Fiorentina, to the people who support me and to the President [Rocco] Commisso, always ready to fill me with praise.

“It’s not easy to have such a natural and immediate connection.”

Serie A has been suspended due to the coronavirus emergency and Fiorentina sit 13th in the table but Castrovilli predicts a bright future for the young Viola side.

“This year we have struggled with consistency,” he added. “We are a new and young group; I think the problems were psychological.

“But the future will be on our side, we have laid a solid foundation and we can bother the big clubs. Dragowski is a great goalkeeper, Lirola and Milenkovic are now certainties at the back and I don’t have to tell you about [Federico] Chiesa. He is a fantastic player, who will be part of the national team for years.

“But there is so much more… [Franck] Ribery is a champion and I would also put our captain Pezzella on the list.

“I had to work hard to play in Serie A, but every day we start from scratch. You must be hungry, have desire and a spirit of sacrifice. I need to score some more goals and make a few more assists.

“I will never forget my first goal at San Siro against Milan, I still find it hard to believe that it really happened.”

Castrovilli has been capped once by Italy so far and relishes the opportunity to stay in CT Roberto Mancini’s squad ahead of Euro 2021 next summer.

“I was already with the youth side, but the first team is something else. It was my childhood dream and the fact that coach [Roberto] Mancini would let me breathe the air in that environment gave me a boost.

“I have a chance to play in Euro 2021, but I take nothing for granted. It will depend on my development and the growth I have at Fiorentina. The team can help me, and I will do all I can to get there.”