Since his disappointing spell with Liverpool a few years ago, the Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani has matured in recent years. The loan spells with AC Milan have once again demonstrated the ability within the midfielder, who suffered a number of injury problems after his move to Liverpool from Roma.

The midfielder recently secured a permanent move to Fiorentina, and he has been one of the main players in the resurgence of Fiorentina under the management of Vincenzo Montella. Even though Vincenzo Montella does not have a lot of experience, he has managed to get Fiorentina closer to the likes of Inter Milan and Lazio in the table.

The club still have an outside chance of qualifying for the European positions. They are currently sixth in the Italian Serie A table with only two points separating them from Inter Milan and Lazio. Aquilani has been one of the star players for the team this season. He has played 18 matches for the club in all competitions and has scored four goals. The 28-year-old has said that he is confident that he can strike a great partnership with Sissoko as well. Fiorentina managed to secure the signing of Sissoko from Juventus in the January transfer window. Aquilani knows Sissoko extremely well due to his loan spell with Juventus a few years back.

“We have to react after last Saturday's loss to Juventus. We have to absorb the criticism and start again – nothing is impossible at this stage of the season. Sissoko is a massive plus for us. We've already started a good relationship [in training],” said Aquilani after the 2-0 defeat at the hands of the table leaders Juventus. The club had recently brought an end to a poor run of form with the 2-0 win over Parma, and they will be keen to return to winning ways.