Southampton's Manolo Gabbiadini Set to Stay at St Mary's This Summer Despite Serie A Interest

Italian striker Manolo Gabbiadini will stay at Southampton next season, despite reported interest from a number of Serie A clubs The 26-year-old striker made

Italian striker Manolo Gabbiadini will stay at Southampton next season, despite reported interest from a number of Serie A clubs

The 26-year-old striker made only 11 starts for the Saints last season, and had reportedly become homesick mid-way through the campaign and was ready to leave St. Mary's Stadium for a return to his native Italy.

Clive Mason/GettyImages

However, the player's agent, Silvio Pagliari, has told the Mirror that Gabbiadini will be remaining at Southampton for the 2018/19 season as the player wants to continue playing in the Premier League.

Pagliari said, "Gabbiadini definitely stays at Southampton.

A few requests from Italian clubs came but he feels at the top in the Premier League, also for how football is lived. It's another world".

The Mirror also claim that Lazio were one of the Italian clubs who made an approach for the Italian. I Biancocelesti are looking for a forward who can compete with striker Ciro Immobile, who scored 41 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A side last season.

Henry Browne/GettyImages

Gabbiadini joined the Saints from Napoli in January 2017 and immediately hit the ground running on the south coast, scoring six goals in 12 appearances for the Premier League club in his first half-season in English football.

However, following the departure of former Saints boss Claude Puel, the Italian striker found himself on the fringes of the Southampton first-team, with new managers Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes preferring Shane Long and Charlie Austin to lead the attacking line.

GEOFF CADDICK/GettyImages

Yet the 26-year-old proved his importance to Hughes' side by coming off the bench to score the winner against Swansea in the club's penultimate game of the 2017/18 season, which helped the Saints secure Premier League survival at the Swans' expense. 

And Gabbiadini, who has also been capped 11 times by the Italian national team, will be hoping for a better 2018/19 season on the south coast.