One of the bigger teams in Italy in the late 1990s, Parma are finally back in Serie A following a drop down to the Italian fourth tier in 2015-16 after being declared bankrupt.
Three consecutive promotions later, and the club, now owned by Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang, are back where many feel they belong, and they’re preparing a summer to try and stay there for the foreseeable future.
One of their targets, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, is Manolo Gabbiadini, currently at Southampton.
Arriving from Napoli and scoring goals for fun, the Italian striker’s second campaign with the Saints wasn’t exactly successful, which has led to rumours of a return to Italy.
Linked with half of Serie A already, Gabbiadini is now being sent to the newly promoted side, who finished second in Serie B, but the fee could be problematic.
We don’t know what Parma’s budget is, but with Southampton asking for around €15m for their forward, and the Italian side looking at other targets, it could be a tricky one to pull off.
Gabbiadini himself suggested recently he wanted to grow in the Premier League, whether that be at St Mary’s or elsewhere, so a return to Italy might not be on the cards for him yet.
