Napoli - Does Gabbiadini deserve more playing time?
With the Spaniard in charge of the Partenopei, Gabbiadini was not only considered a backup of Gonzalo Higuain, but he was also playing as winger or offensive midfielder.
Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 does not leave any space for a trequartista and the product of the Juventus academy is only picked when the Argentinean star Higuain needs some rest and Sarri doesn’t seem very willing to use Gabbiadini as a winger.
Following the 23-year-old brace scored against Midtjylland, Player Management Italy, the agency that manages the player, has released a polemic statement regarding his client.
“Manolo Gabbiadini always scores when he plays”, the statement begins.
“Gabbiadini’s brace in Napoli’s 5-0 victory over the Danish side Midtjylland has to be added to the other two goals that the player netted in the first leg. He has scored one goal every 72 minutes in Europe League, adding one more goal during this Serie A campaign. His seasonal scoring rate is of one goal every 94 minutes.”
The former Sampdoria hit-man started three out of four Europe League games, while he came off the bench once. He shot ten times on target, creating four goal attempts. Gabbiadini’s conversion rate in the second most relevant European competition for club is 29%.
Even if the Partenopei man has played 288 minutes during this Europe League campaign, he has only snatched 183 minutes in seven Serie A games.
Gabbiadini’s lack of playing time in the championship is also affecting his stats in the Italian league. He has only registered two shots on target and a 10% conversion rate. By the way, he has also created five chances (one more than in Europe League) and registered two assists.
Despite the player’s agent hit out at Sarri for not letting Gabbiadini join the team’s starting XI on a permanent basis, the Azzurri’s boss is still set to bench the 23-year-old in the next home game against Udinese as Gonzalo Higuain is set to start up front.
Should the manager change the team’s system to let Gabbiadini in, or is he right in considering the former Sampdoria-man as a mere replacement of the Argentinean star?
GABBIADINI STATS IN EUROPE LEAGUE
GABBIADINI STATS IN SERIE A
