Wanted by Everton towards the end of the summer transfer window, Manolo Gabbiadini’s exit from Napoli, which was deemed unnecessary by Aurelio de Laurentiis in August, looks like it could be happening.
The 25-year-old is really struggling to find the back of the net at the Serie A club, and rumours of Stoke making a bid for the player to restart his career have become stronger by the day in recent times.
Mark Hughes’ need for a striker has become more and more apparent as the season has evolved, with Joe Allen currently the club’s top scorer in the league, with four goals in 13 appearances.
With Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan right behind, too many players are doing better than Wilfried Bony’s two goals in nine appearances, and the Stoke manager is seemingly trying to address this.
Unfortunately for Stoke, as reported by Il Mattino on Friday, delays are very likely to arise regarding a transfer for Gabbiadini, as his number one replacement, Leonardo Pavoletti, is struggling to convince Napoli he will be fit enough to join them.
The Genoa striker is already on his second injury of the season, picking up a sprain in the 3-1 defeat to Lazio back in November, and isn’t expecting to return before 2017.
This is very likely to drag on throughout January.
