at Sheffield Wednesday on 27 April, the first Everton player to score hat-trick in any competition for over two years. Everton ultimately missed out on a UEFA Cup, results not going their way on the final weekend of the season. In late January 1997, Kanchelskis was subject to a bid of £6m from Italian club Fiorentina, and Fiorentina director Luciano Luna claimed personal terms had been agreed for a four-year contract. Injury marred spell with Fiorentina Kanchelskis signed a three-year deal with Fiorentina for a fee of 16 billion lira, signing a four-year contract. The transfer fee was the most expensive for a Russian player, and at the time was one of the most expensive transfers in world football. 1,500 Fiorentina fans turned up to watch Kanchelskis' first training session, and though he passed his medical, Kanchelskis' first match was delayed by an ankle injury, Manager Claudio Ranieri declared Kanchelskis "the best in the world", and club owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori said Fiorentina had beat out A.C. Milan, Spanish club Real Madrid, and Dutch club Ajax to sign Kanchelskis. New teammates Luís Airton Oliveira, Stefan Schwarz, Pasquale Padalino, and Anselmo Robbiati all expressed their joy at the arrival of Kanchelskis, predicting the arrival to be a success for both the team and the player. Wearing the number 32 shirt, he made his debut against Hellas Verona on 16 February in a 2–1 defeat. Cecchi Gori claimed Kanchelskis had been deliberately targeted by opposition player due to the cost of the transfer. Kanchelskis' early performances were criticised by Italian newspaper la Repubblica, scoring no goals and managing only one shot on goal in his first five appearances. A hard tackle by Roma defender Vincent Candela ended his 1996–97 season prematurely, at which point he had played nine games without scoring. He changed his shirt number to 17 for the 1997–98 season, and his form improved in the opening two matchdays of the Serie A campaign, including scoring his first goal against Bari. During the summer, Ranieri had been replaced by Alberto Malesani, who had faith in the ability of Kanchelskis. However, he suffered an ankle injury after a hard tackle from Internazionale defender Taribo West, punished only with a yellow card. Returning to action after 40 days in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Italy in Moscow, he collided with Gianluca Pagliuca and suffered a fracture in his knee, being