Ikone Defends Decision To Swap Lille For Fiorentina
Jonathan Ikone has defended his decision to join Serie A side Fiorentina.
The 23-year-old has swapped French champions Lille for the Florence-based club, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract worth €14m.
Ikone is adamant it was the right moment to move on after three-and-a-half years at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and has even received backing from France national teammates Kylian Mbappe and Mike Maignan, who plays for Serie A rivals AC Milan.
“I am here to show my value, it’s the next step in my career. I am here to improve myself and help the team,” Ikone said at his unveiling on Tuesday.
“It was the right moment for this move, I achieved a lot with Lille. Fiorentina play good football, and I am happy to be part of this team.”
“My main quality is pace and the ability to dribble past players. I have to improve in decision making in the final third.
“Scoring in itself isn’t a personal objective, but of course I am valued also for the goals I score. I enjoy providing assists, and also want to score.”
“Mbappé messaged me when he found out about the move to Fiorentina, he said it’s a good decision and now it’s down to me to make it something big. I thanked him for his message.
“Maignan was happy for me, we speak, we’re friends and we’ll meet on the pitch.”
Fiorentina currently lie seventh on the Serie A table, six points outside the Champions League places.
