OFFICIAL: Fiorentina cancels Lamptey’s contract

Genuinely bummed me out how few photos Getty had to choose from. | Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Fiorentina’s squad for next season continues to take shape. After sorting out the futures of loanees Marco Brescianini, Giovanni Fabbian, and Daniele Rugani, the Viola announced today that the club has agreed to dissolve Tariq Lamptey’s contract, making him a free agent heading into the summer and whittling down a bloated squad just a bit more.

It’s not a huge surprise. There’ve been rumors for the past week or so that the 25-year-old rightback would leave the club less than a year after signing for just €3 million from Brighton. Considering the size and length of his contract (€2.3 million annually until 2028), it’s no surprise that Fabio Paratici moved on from him, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of financial transaction to convince Lamptey to pack up and leave.

It’s a disappointing conclusion to a Viola career that totaled all of 25 minutes. When he signed in the summer, I was cautiously optimistic. His medical history was a concern but he’d be a backup and hopefully wouldn’t put himself under too much physical stress. The best-case scenario was that Fiorentina didn’t fall off a cliff in Dodô‘s absence like it did at times the previous season, when the Brazilian’s ball-carrying was often the only way out of the defensive third.

Lamptey got his debut start against in the fourth gameweek and looked to be forging an excellent relationship with the similarly small and speedy Dodô on the right. The pair interchanged fluidly and caused the Lariani all sorts of problems until Lamptey’s knee buckled in the 22nd minute and he was forced off with what the club would soon confirm was a cruciate ligament tear.