Saints are being rumoured to be about to raid Napoli for a striker according to the latest reports in Italy.

The striker in question is Manolo Gabbiadini, the 25 year old is said to be about to depart from Napoli with Wolfsburg and even Everton being linked, however Sky Sport Italia is saying that they are set to be beaten to the signature by Saints.

Wolfsburg are said to have offered 20 million Euros around £1.7 million on current exchange rates and if Saints match that then it will be down to the player himself to decide where he wants to go.

The Italian seems to fit the mould that Saints under Puel will be looking for in that he can play in several different roles as described on one on line site below.

"Gabbiadini is versatile, creative and hardworking forward, who is capable of playing in several offensive positions, as a striker, supporting forward, attacking midfielder or as a winger on either flank. His preferred role is on the right, however, where he is capable of curling shots on goal with his stronger left foot. A dynamic player, he possesses pace, positional sense and good technique, which, along with his strength, allows him to play with his back to goal and hold up the ball for teammates. Gabbiadini is capable both of creating and scoring goals due to his intelligence and his powerful and accurate shot with his left foot; he is also an accurate set-piece taker"

If Saints do go in for Gabbiadini then they will probably want to offload to take up some of the strain, Shane Long has been linked with a return to West Brom and Nathan Redmond may even be in for a quick departure due to the fact that he cannot seem to fit into Puel's way of playing.

Photo: Action Images

LordDZLucan added 15:20 - Jan 4 Overseas signings don't usually hit the ground running so for me Gabbiadini is one to look at in the summer. I'd rather see an indigenous signing in this window. For me Priority Number 1 is to hang on to who we've got. I don't want to see anybody go whether we sign somebody or not and certainly not Shane Long who, if played in the right role, is the hardest worker in the team.

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SaintBrock added 15:23 - Jan 4 The last Italian striker we had did a pretty good job. If someone has to go to bring him in I'd sell Puel.
4

SonicBoom added 15:50 - Jan 4 I doubt we will offlload Redmond. He gets picked every week by Puel.
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arthurfane added 15:59 - Jan 4 Okay I know Brexit's teared the exchange rate a new one, but EUR20m = GBP1.7m???
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SanMarco added 17:06 - Jan 4 I would swap this bloke for Redmond but we need to keep Long. I know rumours are usually nonsense but it is nice to actually see one about a player comin IN for once...
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highfield49 added 17:46 - Jan 4 Decent enough player but imo not what we need at present. I think he'd struggle with the physical demands of the league and doesn't strike me as being much above the level of the players we have at present. Could be looking at another Gaston, frustrating to watch and unable to influence the game with any consistency. There are better players out there for similar money.

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dirk_doone added 18:05 - Jan 4 He certainly fits the mould of our big money signings. He's injury-prone, unfit, suffers from muscle fatigue and ankle problems and he's managed just two 90 minute appearances in Serie A in 2 years. We'd see even less of him on the pitch than we did of Agustin Delgado or Gaston Ramirez.
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highfield49 added 18:12 - Jan 4 Oh, and the player I'd like to see signed is Anthony Modeste. French, scoring for fun in Germany, been on loan at Blackburn a few years back and scores with both feet and his head. Current value about £8m and with a decent offer his club, Koln, might struggle to say no? Close to 30 years of age but a better investment than Gabbiadini at present.
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Bettwsresident added 18:18 - Jan 4 Highfeild49 he looks just the ticket...but is he in the black box!
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Nidger added 19:20 - Jan 4 Lets use our good links with Celtic and go and buy Dembele.
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SaintGeorge added 19:35 - Jan 4 A Pellè or an Osvaldo? *shivers*
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bstokesaint added 19:41 - Jan 4 Can't see why we'd have to offload. Could we not just play Redmond in the position he is used to playing in and stick by Shane Long, who is without a doubt one of our hardest working players and rarely gives less than 100%. He needs others around him to do the same mind.
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dirk_doone added 20:35 - Jan 4 Bettwsresident added 18:18 - Jan 4 Highfeild49 he looks just the ticket...but is he in the black box! Well, as the creator and operator of the black box went to Tottenham over a year ago, that won't make much difference to us. We've still got a room full of videos though, and the memories of the great players and managers he used to find.
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ItchenNorth added 20:39 - Jan 4 We should go get Sebastian Haller imo. Big, mobile, quick, a proper number 9 and he's French !
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zonehead added 22:39 - Jan 4 Interesting last comment of main article tat Redmond doesn't fit CP style of play, so what exactly is our style of play?
1

leighsaint added 08:43 - Jan 5 I hate Spurs but watching them beat Chelsea last night impressed me with their fitness. They have played nearly as many games as us but with only one or two changes per game. I could name their first team but I don't know what Saints team is this year. I think the fitness of our players needs improving. Just thoughts
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Big_T added 17:32 - Jan 6 Paul mitchell wasn't the creator or even the operator of our 'black box'( which is not black or a box ), neither did he write the custom made analysis software, he also didn't pick who we would watch. He was how ever in charge of the department. Video footage of games from all over Europe is played watched and analyzed by a team of about ten people, statistical data on each player is then processed by the software, target parameters are feed in and narrowed down to fit criteria the results are then forwarded to the scouting department who do their job. Finally you have a list of transfer potentials, then you look into background character and habits, it is not , and has never been a one man operation but it is helpful and someone must oversee that was Mitchell's job.

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Big_T added 18:01 - Jan 6 I'm not trying to have a go at anyone, it just winds me up a bit that people think one ex footballer is the brains behind all our development programme, he wasn't he was a small part. It would be like saying the head of the BBC knows how to set up a satellite link up for a live broadcast.
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dirk_doone added 09:12 - Jan 7 Then why since Paul black box Mitchell left for Spurs, has Les Reed been utterly clueless in the transfer market, buying players like Redmond while Spurs have been doing brilliantly buying players like Dele Alli for 5 million? If Reed buys this overpriced, injury-prone liability, Manolo Gabbiadini, it will just show how utterly clueless he is in spite if whatever spin his team of PR internet posters try to put on it.

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Big_T added 01:02 - Jan 8 Perhaps because deli Ali was identified by us as a signing but pochettino said no he won't fit my style of play, but as soon as he got to spuds he identified him as a player he wanted so he could take credit straight away at spuds ! As long as he stays so utterly clueless we should be fine, Van Dijk, Cedric ,Romeu,Hojbjerg is looking good Boufal also has star quality. But I suppose our head of recruitment had nothing to do with any of the good signing just the bad ones. And before anyone says they were koemans signings koeman wanted clasie,Martina,juanmi . But spuds have done so well with stombouli,fazio,yedlin,vorm,Davies,Tracey,trippier,nkoudo and Jansen the only signings they have done well on are ones we had already identified like Ali dier alderweireld and wanyama. Spuds since November 2014 have had a 40% transfer hit ratio were as we have had a 60%+ ratio we are still way above average for transfer success , which is why so many clubs are copying our format.

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Big_T added 20:49 - Jan 8 Manolo Gabbiadini has been unavailable for just 15 games in the last four seasons 16/17 muscle fatigue 5 days 1 game missed 15/16 distortion of the ankle 30 days 7 games missed 14/15 muscle problem 2 days 1 game 14/15 abductor problem 12 days 1 game 13/14 sprain 20 days 3 games 12/13 abductor problem 11 days 1 game missed 12/13 muscle fatigue 8 days 1 game missed. Not exactly Keiran Dyer or Darren Anderson is he ?

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frankhall added 04:28 - May 19 Paul mitchell wasn't the creator or even the operator of our 'black box'( which is not black or a box ), neither did he write the custom made analysis software, he also didn't pick who we would watch. 8 ball pool https://8ball-pool.io He was how ever in charge of the department.
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