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Fiorentina's Giuseppe Rossi nearing Villarreal return, via Levante - reports

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Giuseppe Rossi is set to return to his former club Villarreal, via Levante, according to reports in Italy.

The 28-year-old has featured fleetingly for Fiorentina this season after recovering from the latest in a long line of serious injuries.

Viola coach Paulo Sousa has named the American-born forward in his starting XI just four times and Rossi has yet to open his account for the campaign.

Sousa is reportedly willing to offload the Italy international this winter, and a return to Spain has emerged as the most likely solution. La Gazzetta dello Sport and Mediaset television are both reporting of an agreement which has been struck between the player and his former club Villarreal, with the intervention of Levante.

The deal would see Rossi join the side currently propping up the Primera Division on loan until the end of the season, before moving back to El Submarino Amarillo in the summer.

Villarreal would therefore ultimately finance the move, in part by paying half of the Italy international's wages between now and the end of the season, and then by paying the Viola a transfer fee in the summer. Rossi's contract in Florence still has 18 months to run on it.

"Levante is currently the only serious avenue," said Rossi's agent Andrea Pastorello to fantagazzetta.com. "The situation is clear: Rossi is on the market and we are assessing several offers. Fiorentina have not taken him off the market at all, we are just looking for the best solution for Giuseppe's future."

Pastorello confirmed that Genoa's interest in Rossi had ended, "but not because Fiorentina had shown any resistance," adding that the Levante offer "is the avenue we are currently going down."

Rossi scored 82 goals in 192 games for Villarreal and could favour a return to Spain in a bid to secure a place in the Italy squad for Euro 2016, something he is unlikely to do by staying in Florence and spending most of his time on the bench, as he has recently.