Leeds were reportedly eyeing a move for Pavoletti in January 2015.
Leonardo Pavoletti’s excellent 2018-19 form for Serie A side Cagliari has seen Roberto Mancini call him up to the Italy side for November’s international break – so did Leeds United make a mistake in failing to sign the striker?
Now 29 years of age, Pavoletti was linked with a move to Elland Road during his time with Sassuolo while Massimo Cellino and Nicola Salerno were owner and director of football respectively.
Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb claimed in December 2014 that the striker was a target for the Championship side, with Cellino bringing in many players from Italy including Mirco Antenucci, Marco Silvestri and Giuseppe Bellusci.
Only Gaetano Berardi remains from that reign as a player brought in from Italy, after the one-time Switzerland international joined the Whites from Sampdoria. He has gone on to make 123 appearances for the Whites.
But Pavoletti could have joined Leeds almost four years ago, but the talismanic striker remained at Sassuolo throughout January 2015 before moving to Genoa at the end of that season.
Scoring 25 goals in 49 Genoa appearances, Pavoletti moved to Napoli for a fee believed to be in the region of £16.4million (SportsKeeda). He struggled with the Champions League side, joining Cagliari on loan for 2017-18, before moving permanently in the summer.
Now, he is banging in the goals for Cagliari as they continue to defy pre-season expectations of relegation and sit in 13th place in the Serie A table – largely down to Pavoletti’s return in front of goal.
The striker has scored eight goals in 12 games this season and that has convinced former Manchester City boss Mancini to hand Pavoletti a chance to prove himself on the international scene. Italy take on Portugal and USA.
Leeds surely made a mistake in failing to lure Pavoletti away from Italy and to Yorkshire, with the striker now set to win his first cap for his country.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
