After three successful years at Sassuolo, Maxime Lopez decided to aim higher by joining Fiorentina. He is now part of a European team, but his playing time is not meeting his expectations.
Marseille native Maxime Lopez has made Italy his home. Since October 2020, he has been playing on all the Serie A fields. For the past three seasons, he did so for the small club Sassuolo, where everything went well. He built a good reputation in Italy, attracting interest from bigger clubs during the transfer window. Ultimately, Lopez chose to join Fiorentina last summer. The transfer was concluded as a one million euro paid loan with a nine million euro purchase option. This seemed like a good plan for the former Marseille midfielder, who was leaving a lower-half team to join a team qualified for the Europa Conference League.
Lopez is desperately warming the bench in Florence
However, the dream has turned into a nightmare since the start of the season. Maxime Lopez has struggled to find a place in the midfield. His playing time has been minimal, with only 616 minutes played. Lopez has only participated in 10 matches in all competitions, including 5 in Serie A. He has only been a starter in the Europa Conference League, where he recently scored a goal, but in the Italian league, he has to play behind Arthur, Duncan, Bonaventura, and Mandragora.
Tuttomercatoweb is pessimistic about Maxime Lopez’s situation and his future at Fiorentina. “It will not be easy for him to find a place. What is certain is that, in reality, Maxime Lopez did not handle his new environment well,” writes the Italian media, which doubts that Fiorentina will want to permanently transfer Maxime Lopez next summer. The former Marseille player will likely have to resign himself to returning to Sassuolo, unless he catches the eye of another team by then.
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