Fiorentina have reportedly agreed a fee to bring Almeria’s midfield ace Felipe Melo to the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The Viola have been in talks with the Spanish side over the last few weeks and have tabled an offer of around £9m.
Almeria are resigned to losing Brazilian star Melo this summer and the 24-year-old has been tipped for the top by experts watching La Liga.
However, Torino boss Gianni De Biasi – who knows Melo from his time at Levante – isn’t sure that his style will suit the Gigliati.
“He is physically strong and has good technique, but he does seem a little on the slow side,” he warned.
“Tactically speaking he isn’t a central midfielder or a trequartista – he’s a kind of half winger.
“If I had to compare him to an Italian player then it would be the Massimo Donati, we saw at Atalanta last year.”
Melo arrived in Spain from Gremio in 2005 and warmed the bench at Mallorca before stepping into the spotlight with Racing Santander.
The No 4 has enjoyed a superb campaign, but was sidelined for a significant period by an ankle injury.
Fiorentina are expected to wait for that problem to heal fully before giving Melo a medical.
