According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Serie A side, Bologna are interested in bringing back Manolo Gabbiadini to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara from Southampton. The striker has barely featured under Mauricio Pochettino in recent weeks and it looks like a move might be agreed upon if not now, at least for next summer.
Gabbiadini’s arrival was met with great pomp and appreciation when he scored both the goals in the side’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United in the 2017 EFL Cup final and increased his tally to 5 goals in the first 3 matches. It looked like the 26-year-old’s was bound towards stardom in the English game, but sadly his run of form did not continue further than that. With 22 appearances this season, mostly as a substitute, Gabbiadini has netted the ball just three times and is not even the second choice striker after Charlie Austin.
Austin’s injury looked like the prime opportunity to find a run of games and re-establish himself in the starting lineup, but Pellegrino opted to play Shane Long – a striker who had failed to score in 35 games in a row. This is very frustrating for a Gabbiadini who was once deemed as one of the hottest prospects in the Serie A and cost around £17m to bring him to the St. Mary’s Stadium.
Although the sale is warranted, it places Southampton in a very tight spot in terms of attacking options now that they have been drawn so very close to the relegation spots. A 10 game winless run has pushed them down to the 17th spot of the Premier League table and with just 15 games left, they cannot afford to lose the former Napoli striker.
Bologna, on the other hand, are also struggling to find the back of the net with just 23 goals in the league scored so far into the season. They got completely outdone by Torino last Saturday and are very close to losing their best player up front, Simone Verdi to Napoli.
“I don’t know if there’s a possibility of a move because I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t predict the future,” said Bologna director, Riccardo Bigon to Sky Sports Italia. This definitely makes proceedings tougher as Mattia Destro played the striker role against Torino and has not exactly been firing on all cylinders this season.
Even if a deal with Italian outfit is agreed upon, will Southampton reinvest the transfer fee on another proven goal scorer?
