Toni urges Fiorentina to swoop for Gomez

The Italian has hailed the wantaway Bayern Munich forward as one of the best in the world and insists he is leaving the club at the right time

Luca Toni has urged Fiorentina to make a move for Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez this summer.

The Germany international is set to leave the Allianz Arena after slipping behind Mario Mandzukic in the pecking order last season, and la Viola have been earmarked as one of the favourites for his signature.

And Toni, who scored eight goals in 28 appearances for Vincenzo Montella's side last season, believes Gomez could be the man to take the club to the next level.

"We are talking about a fantastic player," he told Lady Radio. "We must see how he will adapt to Italian football, but he is a top player. I don't know if they could challenge for the Scudetto [with him] but they would have one of the best strikers in the world."

Fiorentina are likely to lose star forward Stevan Jovetic this summer as the likes of Juventus and Arsenal consider making a move for his services, but Toni believes the club would suffer more should they allow midfielder David Pizarro to leave.

"Jovetic is great but I realized that he wants to leave. I hope Pizarro stays because there are not many others like him," he stated.

Toni went on to stress he has no regrets over leaving Stadio Artemio Franchi this summer after enjoying a superb campaign in 2012-13 - although he feels the club were unfortunate to miss out on Champions League qualification.

"It was fantastic," he said of the team's season. "It was too bad not to be able to reach the Champions League but we played great football. Am I disappointed to say goodbye? No, I thank Fiorentina and the Della Valle family and wish them all possible success, there is a great project in Florence."