Manolo Gabbiadini could have played his final Premier League game as a Southampton player with a return to Serie A, via Sampdoria, a possibility.
It seems a long time since Manolo Gabbiadini arrived at Southampton and scored six goals in his first four games in English football, including a double in the EFL Cup final against Manchester United.
Because, two years on, it seems that the Italian striker is set to leave St Mary’s with barely a whimper.
Consistency has eluded Gabbiadini ever since his red-hot start to life on the South Coast and he has made just one substitute appearance since Ralph Hasenhuttl took over in early December.
The fact he was left out of a much-changed side in Saturday’s FA Cup third round draw at Derby County speaks volumes with the former Napoli man heavily tipped to depart in recent weeks.
And, according to Sky Sports, Sampdoria have now made their move to bring Gabbiadini back to Italy. It is understood that Samp have made an offer to sign the 27-year-old on loan with an obligation to buy him permanently for £10.75 million.
This would see Southampton make a slight loss on a player they paid £14.6 million for in the January 2017 transfer window.
Gabbiadini enjoyed the best spell of his career with Sampdoria between 2013 and 2015, scoring 15 goals in 47 Serie A games to earn a big-money move to Napoli. And he would be welcome back with open arms, although Sky add that his return depends on whether Samp can sell Polish forward David Kownacki.
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