According to a recent report from Calcio Mercato, Manolo Gabbiadini could be set for a move away from Southampton in January. The striker made the move to St Mary’s back in the winter window of 2017 after impressing in a short stint at Napoli, and while he made a fine start to life in the Premier League, things haven’t been as good for the Italy international to plunge his future with the Saints into doubt.

And reports suggest that the 26-year-old could well be set for a move away come the New Year, but were Mark Hughes’ side to indeed sanction his departure in January, it would all but relegate the South Coast outfit.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Saints look set for yet another long and testing campaign in the Premier League following their near-miss with relegation last time round, what with Hughes’ men having won just one of their opening 12 league matches this term, in which time they have netted just eight goals.

Thus, it’s plainly obvious that goal-scoring is a fundamental problem that Hughes and his staff need to sort out quickly if Southampton are to move away from the bottom three - selling one of those forwards, and arguably one of the better ones, is hardly a step in the right direction.

Gabbiadini hit the ground running at St Mary’s in bagging six goals in his first four appearances for the club, only for former boss Mauricio Pellegrino to infrequently start the striker last season, with the Italian finishing the campaign with just 11 league starts to his name.

Yet the 26-year-old still went on to net five times to underline his prowess in front of goal, with it his goal in the 1-0 win at Swansea City that ultimately kept the Saints in the Premier League back in May this year - he delivered when it mattered most.

Add in netting in the 1-1 draw against Watford on Saturday, in what was his first Premier League start since the 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea, and Gabbiadini has it in him to be the man to pull the Saints clear of the bottom three - his all round performance on Saturday was also hugely encouraging.

As such, selling the striker would be a massive mistake given how poor the Saints are going forward anyway, let alone were they to let one of their brighter strikers go come the New Year - and with things hardly great as they are, selling the £10.8 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) would all but relegate the South Coast club.

Southampton fans… what do you think? Let us know!