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€25 million striker Manolo Gabbiadini chased by West Ham, Stoke City, and Wolfsburg

Three intriguing clubs are after Napoli's other wantaway striker.

Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images

After a season in which he barely played, it's little surprise that Manolo Gabbiadini wants to depart Napoli, and given his talent it's even less of a surprise that a number of solid teams are chasing him. Right now, it looks as though three notable teams are chasing him hard -- each of West Ham United and Stoke City in England, plus Wolfsburg in Germany are all reported to be eager to get Gabbiadini to join their squads.

Stoke City have, reportedly, already been rejected by Gabbiadini, who remains unconvinced as to their chances of becoming a threat in the ultra-competitive Premier League. They're buoyed by England's ridiculous television revenues, though, and already have one of the most intriguing squads in the EPL, headlined by Xherdan Shaqiri and filled to bursting with a wide variety of eyebrow-raising talent, a far more fun and skilled squad than the mindless bruisers they were just a few short years ago. Adding Gabbiadini to the mix would give them an amazingly potent attack, but they still have some work to do to get him to sign -- though reports indicate they have far from given up hope.

West Ham have a similarly interesting squad, and were one of the most surprising squads in England last season. They'll be further lifted by their high-profile move to the Olympic Stadium in London, leaving behind their longtime home at the Boleyn Ground for a modern, sophisticated building that will also massively enhance their revenue. Finding a way to work Gabbiadini to an attack that already features Dimitri Payer and Enner Valencia and has added Sofiane Feghouli already this summer would be tricky, but if Slaven Bilic can figure it out, West Ham would be a formidable team indeed.

Then there's the far more intriguing option of Gabbiadini moving to the Bundesliga and VfL Wolfsburg. They've been after Gabbiadini for the last year, with Napoli rejecting mulitple offers from them in each of the last two transfer windows. Now, though, Napoli are open to letting Gabbiadini go, and Wolfsburg need him more than ever with their squad depth up front in an absolute shambles. The idea of Gabbiadini banging in goals in the free-flowing style of the Bundesliga is an attractive one, and this might be the best move for him to develop as a player.

It would be easy to see Gabbiadini land with any of these sides, and they could all afford the reported €25 million that Napoli are looking for. With Stoke already having a move turned down by Gabbiadini, we'll probably see his eventual move start to develop quickly now, especially with Napoli looking to make room for one of the players they have in mind to replace him -- and potentially have to work with the eventual replacement for Gonzalo Higuain as well.

It's a shame to see Gabbiadini go, but it's fairly obvious at this point that something just isn't clicking between him and Maurizio Sarri. That means it's best for all involved for him to head somewhere else, and hopefully things work out much better for Gabbiadini at his new home. We wish him the absolute best, and hope that some time down the road he and Naples can give each other another, more successful, shot.