Napoli are still looking to sign another striker before the window closes. Manchester City’s Wilfried Bony is one of several targets for them which would eventually free up Manolo Gabbiadini’s move to Everton.
Sky Italia report that Napoli are interested in the 27 year old Ivory Coast striker, who has been deemed surplus to requirement by Pep Guardiola, along with Eliaquim Mangala and Samir Nasri. The striker joined City in the Winter mercato of 2015 from Swansea.
The Gabbiadini Connundrum
After Gonzalo Higuain departed for Juventus Napoli have been looking at a cluster of targets for reinforcements. Having signed Arkadiusz Milik, who has already scored two goals in his debut match against AC Milan.
However, Napoli are far from content with their backup striker Manolo Gabbiadini, who was purchased from Sampdoria but has failed to make a significant impact in Sarri’s squad.
Gabbiadini, despite being a prolific striker himself, has failed to convince Maurizio Sarri of his ability to operate as a lone striker. The former Juve youth player was mainly deployed as a winger or a segunda punta in Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Sampdoria side where he had made his name.
Napoli’s Search for a Backup
Everton’s interest in Gabbiadini is failing to materialise because Napoli are yet to secure a backup for Milik. Their recent efforts to sign Genoa’s Leonardo Pavoletti has been thwarted by Enrico Preziosi, the Genoa president who rejected a bid for the Italo-Argentine striker who was the fourth highest scorer in Italy last year.
“I got a call from Aurelio De Laurentiis, offering me €15m plus bonuses for my centre-forward,” Preziosi revealed, speaking to Gazzamercato.
However, the Genoa president, pragmatic as ever, rejected Napoli’s advances since it is too late in the day to find a replacement and selling his top scoring striker would most certainly mean the looming fear of relegation – “I told him clearly that with two days until the transfer window closes there’s nothing to even talk about” (via Football-Italia).
Manchester City till now have failed to get rid of any of the unwanted players in the squad. With the African Cup of Nations in January, Bony will be hoping for first-team action before he goes to Gabon to play the 31st edition of the prestigious tournament. The player has scored 6 goals in 36 appearances for the club spread over two seasons.
