Southampton: Former Saints striker confirmed to have the Coronavirus

Former Southampton and current Sampdoria striker Manolo Gabbiadini has confirmed that he has the Coronavirus via social media.

The 28-year-old left Saints for his current club back in January 2019 in what was reportedly a £10m transfer.

He built up a cult hero status on the South Coast of England after scoring a number of vital goals in his two years at St Mary’s, but left to return to his homeland of Italy once first-team minutes became harder to come by.

Via his official Twitter account, Gabbiadini confirmed his diagnosis by saying (translated to English):

"“I also tested positive for the Coronavirus. I want to thank everyone who wrote to me, many messages have already arrived. I still want to tell you that I’m fine, so don’t worry. Follow the rules, stay home and everything will work out.”"

When Gabbiadini’s name is mentioned, Saints fans will think back to a number of moments.

It’s hard to look past his two goals in the 2017 Carabao Cup final against Manchester United which almost saw him single-handedly win a major trophy for the club.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Saints would eventually lose the game 3-2, but fans still look back on an early disallowed goal that Gabbiadini had that could have even been given after the introduction of VAR.

A cross from Cedric Soares was turned home from close-range by the Italian international, but the effort was ruled out for offside despite Gabbiadini appearing to be onside as the ball was played across the six-yard box.

After signing for an initial £15m from Napoli in January 2017, he really started to pay back his transfer fee straight away with an early flurry of goals.

In his first four appearances – which included the League Cup final against United – yielded no less than six goals after he also scored another double against Watford and netted further strikes against West Ham and Sunderland in the Premier League.

Just six more goals would come in his two seasons with Saints though, but it is good to see that he has found the net 11 times since returning to Italy with Sampdoria.

Along with everyone at Saints Marching, we are sure that all Saints fans and football fans will wish Gabbiadini well in his recovery!