SHARE

The agent of Southampton forward Manolo Gabbiadini has told the Italian media his move to Sampdoria will become official soon and that his client had to leave the Saints.

Gabbiadini is on the verge of joining the Serie A side for a fee in the region of £10.8m.

TMW have reported on comments Silvio Pagliari has made to Sky Italia with regards to the Southampton player heading back to Italy: “There was a desire on both sides to come back together, now only the details and medical visits are missing and then everything will become official.”

Pagliari added: “At Southampton it was great, but it was time to go. With Giampaolo (Marco, Samp manager) he will be able to get back to his best and return to the national team, as he is one of the best Italian strikers.”

Embed from Getty Images

When Gabbiadini joined Southampton in January 2017 there were promising signs. The player scored on his debut against West Ham, and then followed this up with two goals in the EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester United.

However, the goals dried up last season, and the Italy international found the net just 5 times in 28 Premier League games, which has continued into this campaign.

This led to speculation he would be heading back to Serie A, and along with Sampdoria, Gabbiadini has been linked with Fiorentina and Bologna.