With Claude Puel announced as new manager to replace the departing Ronald Koeman, we expected a certain amount of movement from Southampton this summer, but, so far, very little has happened.
The arrival of Jérémy Pied on a free to challenge Cédric at right-back wasn’t exactly the most exciting, while Nathan Redmond and Pierre-Emile Höjberg are young and could be seen as long-terms investments more than anything else (which is commendable, don’t get us wrong).
Having received over £60m in transfer fees and only spending around £25m, you can’t help but feel the French manager has a big signing lined up, and with only Shane Long and Charlie Austin up front, the arrival of a striker seems the likeliest.
This is what Corriere dello Sport are going for on Tuesday as they claim the Premier League side have enquired about Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini, who seems to be the club’s first choice while Arkadiusz Milik gets used to his new club.
The departure of Higuain has left Maurizio Sarri’s club lighter up front, and a departure for the 24-year-old Italian seems unlikely, which is what Southampton have allegedly been told.
We’d say a big offer might convince them, but considering Aurelio De Laurentiis’ frustration at seeing his star leave for Juventus, another big sale wouldn’t make much sense.
