The Italian international striker has struggled since joining Napoli but Everton, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City are reportedly keen.
Manolo Gabbiadini may appear to have no future at Napoli but that has not stopped the Serie A giants playing hardball over his fee, Corriere Dello Sport reports.
The Italian international’s disappointing stint in Southern Italy has been frequently attributed to his inability to fit into coach Maurizio Sarri’s free-flowing 4-3-3 formation, with his impressive hold-up play and technical ability making him better suited to a support striker system.
As a result, his departure seems to have been a formality for quite some time with The Mirror reporting recently that Southampton, lacking a clinical goalscorer in the absence of Charlie Austin, and an Everton side over-reliant on Romelu Lukaku were interested in bringing him to the Premier League in January despite a hefty £17 million price tag.
However, Corriere Dello Sport claim that the valuation of a player who has scored eight goals in his last 36 appearances has been inflated further after he came off the bench to net the equaliser in Napoli’s 2-1 comeback win against Sampdoria, his second in two games.
This is despite the recent arrival of Genoa goal-machine Leonardo Pavoletti and the imminent return of Arkadiusz Milik from a long-term injury.
It is fair to say Everton and Southampton could certainly benefit from the arrival of a new striker this month but Gabbiadini’s goal-scoring record is hardly befitting of his huge price tag.
Corriere Dello Sport claims that West Brom and Leicester City are also expressing an interest but it appears increasingly likely that Napoli’s demands could price Gabbiadini off the market.
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