Gabbiadini set for Napoli exit as Pavoletti nears move

Manolo Gabbiadini looks set to leave Napoli in the transfer window after president Aurelio De Laurentiis claimed he does not suit the team’s system.

The 25-year-old came off the bench to score a last-minute penalty and rescue a 3-3 draw against Fiorentina but has otherwise struggled to convince under Maurizio Sarri this season.

The forward has been linked with Everton, Wolfsburg and Stoke City in recent weeks and De Laurentiis has all but confirmed that Gabbiadini will be allowed to leave.

“It’s not that he wasn’t able to express himself, it’s just that different things are asked of him and they are not in his locker,” De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss.

“Gabbiadini scored a lot of goals at Sampdoria and also here under Rafael Benitez, so with a different system to the one Sarri uses, he should have a better chance of being decisive.

“I thought that his performance in the first season was because of physical issues but that wasn’t the case. He is simply not suited to Sarri’s football.

“You can’t make something fit when it doesn’t. It’s like an out-of-key note in a harmony. Sarri can’t lose points to help one player improve.”

De Laurentiis confirmed that Leonardo Pavoletti is poised to arrive from Genoa in a deal reported to be worth €15million.

“Pavoletti will have his medical over the next few days, so we hope he is in good shape,” he told Sky Sport Italia.

Pavoletti has scored four goals in 10 appearances in a season blighted by injury problems.