Southampton: Saints did well to sell Gabbiadini | OneFootball

After enduring a difficult spell at St Mary’s, Southampton’s decision to sell Manolo Gabbiadini for £10.8m has turned into a great piece of business.

Southampton signed the Italian striker from Napoli in a deal worth £14m in 2017 and he would go on to make 60 appearances for the Saints, in which he contributed just 12 goals and no assists.

Other than his performance in the League Cup final, where he scored twice in a 3-2 defeat against Manchester United, the former Italy international endured an entirely forgettable spell at St Mary’s and he hasn’t exactly set the world alight since leaving either.

After just one goal in 12 Premier League appearances in the 2018/19 season, Southampton decided to cash in on Gabbiadini, with Sampdoria paying £10.8m to take him back to Serie A, where he has remained for the past two and a half years.

Despite an improved record which has seen him manage 39 goals and 12 assists in 122 appearances for I Blucerchiati, his market value has seriously decreased from his time at St Mary’s, with Transfermarkt valuing him at just £4.5m.

This emphasises just how well Southampton did to sell him for £10.8m, even if they did make a small loss on the £14m they paid for him, as if he had stayed at St Mary’s and continued to struggle, then we could well have seen a similar situation to someone like Guido Carrillo, who was eventually released by the Saints after several loan spells, despite them paying £19m to sign him from AS Monaco.

Therefore, sporting director at the time, Ross Wilsonm deserves credit for negotiating such a good deal for Gabbiadini after he struggled to perform in the Premier League, although considering his goal record has never been fantastic, you wonder why Southampton wanted to sign him in the first place.

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