Alberto Gilardino has said that he is "happy to be back" at Fiorentina ahead of his loan move to the club.

The 31-year-old has been playing for Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande since last summer, but he is now poised to return to his former club for the rest of the season.

"Today is very important for me, returning to Florence and I am very happy to be here," he told Viola Channel. "A small part of the squad remained, such as [Juan Manuel] Vargas and [Manuel] Pasqual, while I find my friend Alessandro Diamanti too.

"I am very happy to be back, I'm really fired up. I thank the club, as the President and all the staff wanted me. I also thank and salute all the Viola fans.

"Motivation is fundamental and I have a lot of it. I am really hungry to prove myself in Serie A and after five months in China I really want to reach my 200th Serie A goal.

Gilardino scored 59 goals for Fiorentina in his previous spell with the club.