Fiorentina are considering moving for Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh – if no deal can be agreed for Mounir El Hamdaoui.

 

La Viola want the Moroccan striker, but still have work to do on the agreement, despite a mooted transfer fee of just €3M for the player.

 

El Hamdaoui has fallen out of favour in Amsterdam and has been a peripheral figure for the last 18 months under coach Frank de Boer.

 

Indeed, after failing to move in the summer transfer window, De Boer placed the 27-year-old in the club’s second team, also not registering the striker in Ajax’s Champions League squad.

 

The former AZ goalscorer is keen to move on, but a switch to Florence is not yet signed and sealed, with other clubs interested too.

 

And not wishing to be caught without another striker for the second half of the season, La Viola are making plans for the possibility that El Hamdaoui does not land.

 

If the forward is not signed, Fiorentina will turn their attention to Arsenal man Marouane Chamakh.

 

Like El Hamdaoui, Chamakh has fallen out of favour at the Emirates, though not to the same extent as his countryman.

 

The former Bordeaux star is desperate for first team football and has admitted that he will look at leaving Arsenal if it is not forthcoming.

 

Fiorentina are aware however that signing Chamakh would be a much more expensive operation than snapping up El Hamdaoui.

 

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