Southampton sign Italy forward Gabbiadini from Napoli

LONDON (Reuters) - Italy striker Manolo Gabbiadini has joined Southampton from Serie A side Napoli after signing a four-and-a-half-year deal, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. No fee was given for the transfer but media reports indicated Saints had paid 14 million pounds for the player who has struggled to hold down a first team place in Italy. "At the age of 25, we believe Manolo can play an important part in the remainder of the season, while still having his best years ahead of him," said Les Reed, Southampton's executive director of football, in a statement. "With Jay Rodriguez, Shane Long and Nathan Redmond all in good form, and Charlie Austin making encouraging progress in his return from injury, Manolo is another exciting addition to our attacking lineup ahead of the final months of the season, as well as for future campaigns." Southampton, who lost 2-1 at Swansea on Tuesday evening, are 12th in the League but have a Feb. 26 League Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley to look forward to. Gabbiadini, who has played for Atalanta, Bologna and Sampdoria as well as Napoli, scored 58 club goals in 215 appearances in Italy. He also has six caps for the national side. "Since I was a kid, one of my dreams was to perform in one of the biggest leagues in the world, so now that it's happening I can't wait to start playing," he said. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)