Why signing sought-after Manolo Gabbiadini would be a mistake

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Everton, Southampton and Sunderland have all been linked with bringing the Italian forward to the Premier League during the January transfer window.

Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini is a player who has consistently been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent weeks.

The plethora of reported interest in Gabbiadini would suggest that the forward’s services are in great demand. According to ESPN, the Italian will leave Napoli this month and will move to either the Premier League or the Budesliga – with the report also posing that Wolfsburg, Leicester City, Stoke City and Southampton could all be suitable destinations for the 25-year-old.

The Premier League links to Gabbiadini do not stop there – as the Daily Mail have suggested that Everton and Stoke City would also be keen on signing the front man, whilst Italian media outlet TuttoSport report that Sunderland have entered the race for the sought-after goal-getter.

But there lies the issue. There is little doubt that the aforementioned are all in need of a striker to either support or replace the current incumbents – but Gabbiadini is not the solution. He is not a goal-getter.

Indeed, Gabbiadini has not exceeded ten league goals in a single season of his eight-year professional career to date – his highest tally was the eight strikes from his 34 Serie A games for Sampdoria in 2013-14.

This season alone has seen Gabbiadini score just three goals – one each against Verona, Fiorentina and Sampdoria – in his 13 league games. Further, Napoli’s actions have also resounded the fact that Gabbiadini is perhaps not worth the hype.

Not only have the ‘Little Donkeys’ signed forward Leonardo Pavoletti, but they also have Arkadiusz Milik, Lorezo Insigne and Jose Callejon higher up the pecking-order. Maybe most telling of all, is that Napoli have even preferred to convert midfielder Dries Mertens into a central forward – rather than put their faith in Gabbiadini.

Comparisons with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, Sunderland’s Jermaine Defoe and even Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez show that Gabbiadini has a less impressive statistical worth in the offensive areas – according to football data analysts WhoScored – including: Goals, Minutes per Goal, Assists, Shots per Game, Aerial Duels Won per Game, and Average Rating.

Whether Gabbiadini makes the move to the Premier League remains to be seen – as does the question regarding the forward’s worth, considering his output and, according to Calciomercato, the suggested £17 million transfer fee required.