Inter Milan’s highly-rated Brazilian, Gabigol, looks to be heading out of Inter after signing for the club just last summer. The forward joined the Italian club in August this year for a sum of €29.5m from the Brazilian club, Santos.
Dubbed the ‘next Neymar’, the 20-year-old has been touted to move away from San Siro, as per reports from The Sun. English clubs Chelsea and Arsenal are said to be tracking the situation and could make a move for the talented youngster in the January transfer window, but a move to Italian club Empoli is also on the cards.
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Gabigol's transfer to Inter Milan was marred with controversy, with Spanish giants Barcelona contesting that they had first option on signing the player, but the Brazilian club decided to sell the player without informing the Catalans.
According to Italy’s Calcionews24, Barcelona have again entered the race to sign the young striker.
The Brazilian has played just 16 minutes since his move from Brazil and recent reports have indicated that former Inter Milan manager, Frank de Boer, who was sacked earlier this month, hadn’t given his seal of approval in the signing of the youngster.
Prior to being sacked as Inter manager, de Boer had said that the Brazilian striker was ‘not ready’ and excluded him from Inter’s squad for the game against Sampdoria.
de Boer was sacked by the Italian club on 1st November, after a string of poor results which led the club to fall to 13th in the Serie A table. Inter replaced the Dutch manager with Italian Stefano Pioli, the former Lazio and Bologna manager.
Need time to adapt to tactical Italian league, says Gabigol
In an interview with Il Guerin Sportivo magazine last month, the Brazilian striker spoke about his lack of game time and that his move to Inter was the right one.
“It’s a fantastic feeling and extra motivation to give my best. I could’ve gone to China, where they were offering a lot of money, in Spain or England, but from the very start, I had no doubts.
“I was won over by the passion of the people. I promise the fans great effort and determination, even if I have to adapt to a very different League than I am accustomed to. Italian football is more tactical, but we have a great team and want to win, because we’ve got everything it takes to achieve that,” said the 20-year-old striker.
Gabigol moved to Inter after impressing for Brazil in the Summer Olympics at Rio, where he starred for the Brazilian team and helped them win the gold medal. The Brazilian striker made his debut for Santos at the age of 16 and scored 56 goals in 154 appearances for the Brazilian team.
His performances for Santos and the similar career path led to comparisons with Barcelona’s superstar, Neymar.
