Southampton make genuine progress on signing, concrete chances of agreement

 

Southampton are one step closer in their attempt to sign Italian forward Manolo Gabbiadini, according to reports in Italy.

On Friday, Gazzetta dello Sport report Southampton have made an offer of €16m plus €4m in bonuses for Gabbiadini.

The offer is believed to be fair for a player who hasn’t featured much in the last couple of years. Both sides are still negotiating on the possible bonuses, and Gazzetta believe Napoli could also pocket a percentage on his future sale.

Gazzetta say both parties have made enough progress in recent days and the chances of Gabbiadini switching to Southampton are now more concrete.

Napoli on their part want to ensure they make a good profit if Gabbiadini does well in England, the club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis is said to be worried about the player ‘exploding’ in English football and becoming worth a lot.

The Italian forward has 5 goals to his name in around 700 minutes of football, and a move to Southampton could be a perfect opportunity for him to revive his career.

Southampton may well feel that Gabbiadini does explode, and then sign for someone else for a big fee, they should get all the profit. This could now be the last sticking point.

Of all the Gabbiadini claims since the middle of the summer transfer window, this is starting to look like the most concrete.