Southampton’s dream spine come February

Manolo Gabbiadini

Southampton have reportedly reignited their interest in Napoli striker Manolo Gabbiadini, and it’s no surprise given their lack of options in the attacking department.

Star striker Charlie Austin is out injured for a while, leaving just Shane Long, Jay Rodriguez, and Nathan Redmond as their recognised forwards, and the latter has only played in that position since the start of the campaign.

Thus, given their lowly goal tally of 22 in the Premier League so far, Puel clearly feels that he needs another striker to help get the Saints back into the top half of the table, and Gabbiadini could be his man.

The Napoli forward looks set to leave Naples this month after starting just seven of their 21 Serie A matches this term, and hasn’t featured in their last two league matches.

Clearly, Gabbiadini is out of favour at Napoli, so it makes sense for Puel to try and strike a deal with the club to bring the talented Italian international to St Mary’s this month.