Martin Caceres spoke positively about the mood in the Fiorentina camp as he was officially unveiled as a Viola player at a press conference on Wednesday. It’s been a difficult start to the season for Vincenzo Montella’s side in terms of picking up points, but Caceres believes there is plenty of cause for optimism.

The new Fiorentina defender also shared his delight at joining the club, pinpointing the backing from the fans as one of the main reasons he wanted to join the club.

“I’m pleased to be in Florence. I think it’s a fantastic city that really gets behind the team. In the past I’d always come here as an opponent, but the atmosphere is fantastic.”

You’re known as a versatile defender. Do you have a preferred position?

“In my previous clubs, regardless of how much I’ve played, I’ve always shown what I can do. I’m a professional. I can play at centre-back or full-back and one of my strengths is that I’ve always done in all the positions I’ve played in. I think versatility is a good thing because it means I can play in different positions. I’m here to perform well and I’ll give it my all.”

What’s the aim here this season?

“My personal objective is to play as much as possible and to help the team and the club. Before I joined, I watched the Napoli game and I think the team did very well despite not getting the result. The Genoa match was a shame because it meant going into the international break on the back of a defeat, but since coming back I’ve seen that the team wants to do well. Ribery is fit now – he’s doing well in training and showing that he’s still got it. The only thing missing right now is the results. Let’s hope we can get the three points against Atalanta this week – that’s what we all want.”

Will you be serving as a mentor figure to Luca Ranieri?

“We have a number of young players who have made the step up to the first team from the Primavera side. He’s impressed me – he did well against Genoa despite the result. It shows that the Primavera players are able to come up to the first team and do well.”

What have you made of Federico Chiesa so far?

“I’ve been surprised by him, but not just him: I didn’t know [Riccardo] Sottil and [Gaetano] Castrovilli before. I’ve been most impressed by those three. They’re young but they have real quality and they can help both Fiorentina and the Italy national team. Chiesa is a great lad. I’ve not known him long but he seems humble and relaxed. There’s been a lot of talk about his future but the most important thing is that he stays fully focused on us for as long as he’s here.”