With Napoli seemingly refusing to budge on their asking price of 25 million Euros for Manolo Gabbiadini, Saints are reported to be turning their attention to Spain.

Apparently Saints have told the Italian side that their offer of 16 million euros plus another 3 million in add ons is their final offer and if it is not accepted then they will turn elsewhere.

That elsewhere seems to be Spain where they will look to Real Madrid's Mariano Diaz instead, the 23 year old who has been at Real since 2012 has struggled to break into the squad which is understandable given the talent that the Spanish club have, but he has scored for Real Madrid B for fun and that got him promoted to the first team squad this season.

So far he has mde only a handful of league appearances and been used mainly in the cups where in the Spanish cup he has scored 4 goals in 4 games.

Now he is reluctantly accepting that he may have to leave Real for first team opportunities although last month he was saying that unless it was an offer he cant turn down he will stay.

But Saints could be that offer although whether it will be a straight bid or a loan is yet to become clear, certainly a loan could suit all parties with Diaz getting a chance to show his talents on a big stage on a regular basis and Saints fillng a gap whilst they consider more permanent options in the summer.

Photo: Action Images

aceofthebase added 20:51 - Jan 24 With that headline I thought R.......... Nah can't be.
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StRipper added 00:27 - Jan 25 Would love this to happen, though far prefer that we bought him outright
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ChannonFodder added 07:33 - Jan 25 YouTube 'n' that, but... This kid looks much more like what Saints need than Gabbiadini. Young, quick, relentless and ruthless, desperate for a chance, potentially cheap; fits all the Black Box criteria. Sign him up before someone else does. Maybe get Gareth Bale to have a word...?
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SaintPaulVW added 07:48 - Jan 25 If he's looking that good I'd rather we take a punt and sign him than run him in in the EPL and have an Alderwierld done on us again. We are not short of a few quid after all.
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highfield49 added 08:27 - Jan 25 My gut instinct is that Mariano would prove to be the better signing simply because he's young, very talented and yet to fully prove himself. Gabbiadini appears to be somewhat the opposite, had opportunities which he hasn't really grasped and would possibly be just as happy to play in China provided the money's good. Mariano also looks more like the type of player Puel would see as an improvement up front whilst Gabbiadini could easily become a squad member without getting regular starts. Time will tell.

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kingolaf added 08:31 - Jan 25 I wouldn't consider a loan. They have a habit of not working out one way or the other.
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ChannonFodder added 09:33 - Jan 25 @highfield49 "Gabbiadini... had opportunities which he hasn't really grasped and would possibly be just as happy to play in China provided the money's good." So he could be the next Pelle?
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highfield49 added 09:41 - Jan 25 @ChannonFodder, yes you're right Gabbiadini could be the new Pelle for all I know.
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darkangelv2 added 12:46 - Jan 25 Don't understand people saying loans aren't ideal. Toby is the perfect example of an excellent loan! Hindsight is a wonderful thing - yes we would love to have had him permanently. But look what happens when you do that too.... Gardos, Osvaldo, Forren, Juanmi. For me, a loan is preferable but with a much stronger contract in place around purchase than we had with Toby. Either way - we'll see.

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Big_T added 18:58 - Jan 25 Great news this hopefully means we are signing Manolo Gabbiadini :-)
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