Albert Guðmundsson sums up this Fiorentina and that’s not a compliment

There’s just something about him that I don’t like. | Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images There was no one person responsible for Fiorentina’s pathetic performance at Crystal Palace except maybe Daniele Pradè. Still, there was a moment that felt illustrative of a large portion of the problem.

It was just before the 10 minute mark. Nicolò Fagioli came away with the ball on the right side of the pitch and, under pressure, hit a long switch out to the left wing, putting the wide forward into a 1-v-1. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a Viola player within 30 yards because Albert Guðmundsson was standing in the center circle, arms raised, waiting for Fagioli feed the ball to his feet.

That single passage of play summed up Guðmundsson’s career in Florence, not least because we’ve seen similar moments time and again in his nearly 2 years. His technical ability is as obvious as his lack of physicality, but overshadowing both is the mental side of his game. He drifts in and out, he makes strange decisions, he alternates between overplaying and deferring.

Put simply, he’s infuriatingly inconsistent, particularly for a player to whom Fiorentina has committed so many resources. As a reminder, Guðmundsson cost a shade over €22 million between his initial loan and the reduced fee that Daniele Pradè negotiated; he also earns about €2. 8 million a year.