After his performance against Manchester United in the EFL Cup Final, things couldn’t get much better for Manolo Gabbiadini. Enjoying an incredible start for Southampton after a January move from Napoli, the forward added a brace to his three strikes in his first two Premier League starts.
The trophy would ultimately land up in the hands of Jose Mourinho’s side that day, but the 25-year-old received praise of the highest order from the Portuguese coach. "When a personality like him comes up to you and says 'you were outstanding and scored two phenomenal goals,' then it makes you feel something special inside," Gabbiadini told Gazzetta dello Sport the following day.
Spurred on by such high praise, the former Atalanta youth product was unsurprisingly named in the starting lineup against Watford this weekend, with his Coach keen to stress that his contribution to the side extends way beyond the number of goals scored.
“He’s a great player with quality, because we can find him between the lines and he can play in good combinations with his partners,” Southampton boss Claude Puel told reporters in his pre-match press conference. “He makes good runs and he has good movement in the box.”
True to form, Gabbiadini impressed once again, starting as a lone striker in Puel’s 4-2-3-1 system and adding yet another goal to his tally in the Saints’ 4-3 victory at Vicarage Road. This takes his total to six goals in his opening four games for the club, a start which has put him on a pedestal among fans of the club on England’s South coast.
To buy a Lamborghini
Instead he bought a striker
His name was GABBIADINI
#saintsfc #Gabbiadini
@SFC_Chants
Whilst many did not expect such a fantastic start to life in England for the £14m forward, there were undoubtedly none more surprised than fans of his former club Napoli. Since his January 2015 arrival at the Stadio San Paolo, Gabbiadini never really lived up to the promise he showed at previous side Sampdoria, and was often a frustrated figure on the field.
The dynamic front three of Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon often kept him out of the side, and the summer signing of Poland international Arkadiusz Milik had pushed him even further down the pecking order. When the former Ajax striker tore his ACL back in October however, it finally seemed like this unfortunate figure would have his chance to shine.
Fielded as a striker in Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 system, Gabbiadini failed to register a single league goal in the absence of Milik, prompting the Tuscan boss to lose patience and opt for Mertens instead. The Belgian responded in kind with nine goals and one assist in four matches, and the fate of his team-mate was sealed.
Outspoken owner Aurelio De Laurentiis weighed in on the debate, revealing to the press that the player did not fit in with the formation at Napoli. Bereft of confidence, Gabbiadini had become the butt of everyone’s jokes in Italy, with even his agent admitting that he needed a fresh start in a different European League.
“I thought he was very one dimensional and wasn't able to create anything himself, he had a good chance to prove himself when Millik got injured and got himself sent off needlessly and looked out sorts at other times,” Napoli fan Alex Mercogliano told The Sportsman. “I would have liked to have seen him tried out on the right where Callejon seems to play every week, like he did at Sampdoria.”
Now, it seems that the forward has found some happiness at Southampton, his move seeing him return to the kind of form shown back at Sampdoria. Yet to reach double figures in a single season, the Lombardy-native’s best form was here under Sinisa Mihajlovic in 2013/14. With the Blucerchiati, he developed a penchant for free-kicks under the tutelage of the former Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio defender, scoring nine goals and providing four assists that year.
With three goals in his opening Premier League starts, perhaps it is high time Gabbiadini broke that barrier and moved into double figures, finally achieving his potential and erasing those bad memories left behind at Napoli.
