Christian Kouamé has completed a permanent move from Fiorentina to Aris Saloniki, ending his long spell in Italian football and opening a new chapter in the Greek Super League 1. The Ivorian-Italian centre-forward joins the Thessaloniki side on a standard transfer, leaving Serie A for a league where Aris are looking to strengthen their attacking options. His contract with Aris Saloniki runs from 2026-02-06 to 2028-06-30.
The deal brings to a close Kouamé’s time on the books of Fiorentina, who had retained his registration through multiple loans before agreeing to his switch to Greece. While the exact transfer fee has not been disclosed, the move comes at a time when his market value stands at €2.50m, reflecting a significant comedown from his peak years in Serie A but still marking him as an experienced international-calibre forward.
Kouamé arrives at Aris as a 28-year-old centre-forward, standing 1.93m tall and offering a physical, aerial presence at the top end of the pitch. Primarily a central attacker who favours his right foot, he will be expected to add depth and competition in Aris’s front line as they seek to compete in Super League 1. The transfer also ensures that, rather than becoming a free agent after his spell in Florence lost momentum, he now has contractual security and a defined role in a new project.
Born in Abidjan, Kouamé holds dual nationality with Cote d’Ivoire and Italy, a background that has shaped a career spent almost entirely in the Italian system before this move. After developing in youth setups such as Sassuolo Primavera and Prato Youth, he stepped into senior football with AC Prato, then rose through AS Cittadella and Genoa CFC. His performances at Genoa propelled his market value as high as €22m and earned him a switch to Fiorentina, where he became a regular Serie A figure and later attracted a loan move to RSC Anderlecht in Belgium’s top flight.
His journey has taken him through multiple leagues: the Italian lower divisions with Prato and Cittadella, Serie A with Genoa and Fiorentina, the Belgian top tier with Anderlecht, and another spell in Serie A when he joined Empoli on loan before returning once more to Fiorentina. That loop back to Florence preceded his definitive step away from Italy, as his standing at Fiorentina diminished and his value stabilised at the €2.50m mark.
The pattern of his market value over the years highlights both his rise and his recent decline. From modest beginnings at Sassuolo Primavera, his valuation climbed sharply during his breakthrough at Cittadella and Genoa, hitting the €22m threshold while he was still in his early twenties. Subsequent injuries, form fluctuations, and competition for places at Fiorentina saw that number trend downward, from mid-teens millions to single digits and ultimately to his current €2.50m level recorded in late 2025 and reaffirmed shortly before this transfer.
For Aris Saloniki, recruiting a forward with extensive experience in Serie A and exposure to Belgian football represents a strategic attempt to add proven pedigree to a squad operating in a league that often looks to Italy for reinforcements. From Kouamé’s perspective, the move offers a reset in a different footballing environment, with the opportunity to re-establish himself as a key starter rather than a rotational option or loanee.
The transfer also subtly shifts the geographic arc of his career. After spending more than a decade within Italian club structures and stepping briefly into Belgian football, he will now play in Greece, still abroad from both Cote d’Ivoire and Italy but in a competition that has become a recognizable stage for players aiming to relaunch or stabilise their careers. If he can recapture the form that once made him one of Serie A’s more highly valued young forwards, this spell at Aris Saloniki could yet reshape the trajectory of his reputation and extend his relevance on the European scene.
