It must be difficult for clubs like Leicester City or Stoke City, wanting a player like Manolo Gabbiadini, one who has underperformed all season when the expectations around him were high, and be told they will need to pay well upward of €20m for him.
That is, at least, according to Monday’s Corriere dello Sport, who seem to suggest that Claudio Ranieri and Mark Hughes remain the main two for the player’s signature.
Scoring only four goals in 18 appearances so far this season, two of which are penalties, the player failed to step into Arkadiusz Milik’s scoring boots following the Polish striker’s severe injury, which led to Napoli buying Leandro Pavoletti early in January.
An important goal on Saturday after coming off the bench won’t have hurt his reputation, that’s for sure, but Leicester and Stoke will both want a striker capable of scoring on a regular basis, and Gabbiadini hasn’t shown that in over a year and a half.
It could, and most likely is, just be a confidence thing, but there’s a reason neither side are rushing into getting a deal done, as spending such money to bring a player to the King’s Power Stadium or the bet365 Stadium who is struggling makes little sense.
Gabbiadini has gone through a lot during his time at Napoli: playing on the right under Benitez, living in Gonzalo Higuain’s shadow, seeing Arkadiusz Milik coming in when it was meant to be his moment to shine, and so on…
Corriere state Aurelio de Laurentiis is sympathetic towards the player for this, and that’s why there are ‘no discounts’ regarding his sale.
It seems he wants him to go out on a high, or at least for a high fee.
