Latest news with #Gabbiadini
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Xhaka 'solid' and brings quality to Sunderland
The probable arrival of Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka is a "huge signing" and "fantastic news" for Sunderland, believes former striker Marco Gabbiadini. The Black Cats have agreed a £13m deal to sign the 32-year-old from Bayer Leverkusen, with a potential £4m in add-ons. After spending seven years at Arsenal in the Premier League, he moved to Levekusen in 2023 and won the Bundesliga in his first season. "He is a huge signing," Gabbiadini said. "He has obviously seen a connection that he thinks he can make. It is fantastic news for us. "He is a brilliant tournament player for Switzerland and is exactly the all-rounder that we need. He has quality but also that little bit of nastiness and tenacity that you need. That is what he epitomises. He is solid - as his name suggests. "It is going to be a big issue for us this year - that physicality in the middle of the park and Xhaka will bring that. With all the games he has played in the Premier League, he is a very exciting prospect." Xhaka has plenty of experience in England, scoring 23 goals in 297 appearances for the Gunners and helping them win the FA Cup twice. On whether Xhaka is a better signing than former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson, who has joined Brentford this summer, Gabbiadini added: "That is up for debate. We won't know until we see. They are similar players in many respects and they both have a goal in them. "The biggest issue for us is how many games he is going to play. Injuries haven't been a big issue for him, sometimes you just get players like that. That is a huge bonus for us as well." Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gabbiadini names team-mate Gates as most skilled Sunderland player
Throughout Wednesday, we have been revealing who Sunderland legend Marco Gabbiadini believes are the club's most skilful players ever. And finally we have reached top spot. He awards first place to Eric Gates, with whom he forged a formidable strike partnership dubbed the G-force during their time together in the 1980s. Advertisement While his time with the club did include a relegation, Gates is still considered one of the cleverest forwards of his time. "I can remember watching Eric when I wasa kid at a caravan on a black-and-white TV," Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle. "I was watching him play European football matches [for Ipswich], and then I got to play with him a few years later. "In an era when pitches weren't great, he wasn't a silky winger, but he had a really clever, deft touch in the way that he played. "Every time he got the ball, he was always looking to play through people and around people. Defenders didn't know whether he was going to keep it or lay it off, which was also a great skill. He would flick it with his first touch around the corner." Advertisement So, there it is, the top five most skilful players in Sunderland's history, according to Gabbiadini. Eric Gates Sebastian Larsson Stephane Sessegnon Michael Bridges Billy Hughes How would you rank these five? Have a go over here And who did Gabbiadini miss out? Tell us here Listen back on BBC Sounds
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Henderson, Mount & Delap: Gabbiadini on Sunderland transfers
Marco Gabbiadini has joined the list of Sunderland pundits pushing for Jordan Henderson to return to his boyhood club following the Black Cats' promotion to the Premier League. The former striker told BBC Radio Newcastle, "He must be doing okay because he's still in the England squad, isn't he? I haven't seen any film or anything, but he must be doing alright if they're watching him and he's got picked in the next England squad. "It would be a sort of a fairy tale, wouldn't it? And it does happen sometimes," he added. "He's been an outstanding player. He's gone on to be one of the best players in the country at times and win the top trophies, so I think he probably would be an asset. It probably goes a little bit against what the club is all about at the moment, but maybe they will make some exceptions for when we get in the top flight." When asked about realistic options Sunderland could sign this summer, Gabbiadini struggled because of the unknown approach sporting director Kristjaan Speakman will take. Will they continue showing faith in youth, or will Kyril Louis-Dreyfus dig deep into his wealth to try to lure stars to the Stadium of Light? He said: "I think we might be looking for players if we are going to spend - and this is the big question - someone like Mason Mount at Man United, who they've got such a turnover of players and huge numbers and they're looking to change that again this year. "He's a player who's got massive potential, I think. Maybe he hasn't fully reached it. Those kinds of players would be great for us." Sunderland have been the youngest side in the Championship this season and are likely to repeat that feat in the Premier League next season but Gabbiadini would push for some veterans to join the ranks. "Obviously, Mepham's got some Premier League experience. You would think at the back we're not too bad, but I think an influential midfielder and somebody who's a goalscorer, whether that's a 10 or a striker. Obviously we've got Le Fee on a permanent deal now as well." "I think the lad Delap is decent as well if he wanted to stay in the Premier League, but it looks like he's going to get a shot at one of the big clubs, isn't it? "We see it with so many young English players. They go to a Chelsea and you don't see them for a couple of years. "Mason Mount's probably had some injury problems as well, but it's a big group. When you come back from injury, you've got a lot of players in front of you. It does make a lot of sense to me to come to a club where you will start." Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Gabbiadini criticises 'anonymous performances'
Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini has criticised "anonymous performances" in Sunderland's loss at Oxford United. "We are huffing and puffing and not really getting anywhere at the moment. It's a very difficult watch," he told BBC Radio Newcastle. "There was some moments. We probably deserved a goal from the sort of chances and half-chances we had in the first half."Sunderland have long secured their place in the Championship play-offs while Gary Rowett's side sealed their safety from relegation with Saturday's result. "It was a huge game for Oxford," Gabbiadini added."I think they did a job on us in that they were very physical. Every time a ball went to one of our players they got clipped or pushed or caught in the follow through or whatever but they did it in a clever way and we didn't find a way around that."Regis Le Bris has rotated his team in recent weeks but named his strongest possible 11 against the U's and Gabbiadini was not impressed with two of Sunderland's star players and one of the bosses tactical decisions. "There was some really anonymous performances. Roberts was just completely ineffectual," he added."Rigg struggled to really put his stamp on the game. In a game where they had a lot of possession and they needed a little bit of magic. I find it hard to criticise a lad of his age but this is the reality of where we are as a club at this moment. "My biggest question would be, why on earth isn't Enzo Le Fee playing in the middle of the pitch? He was the only one really, for me, who had any sort of gumption about him against Oxford. It was a hard watch."You can listen to more from Marco Gabbiadini on BBC Sounds.
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Vardy 'the type of player Sunderland could use' if promoted
Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini says Jamie Vardy "would be gold dust for a lot of Premier League teams" - and the type of player the Black Cats could use if they get promoted. Leicester City legend Vardy announced he will be leaving the Foxes at the end of the season but confirmed he was not retiring from professional football. Gabbiadini has likened him to two of Sunderland's greatest strikers - Kevin Phillips and Jermain Defoe. Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle: "He's not going to demand the same contract that he's on now. "I think he got well rewarded for his loyalty to the club so I wouldn't think he would be anywhere near the level he's at at this stage."It's reminiscent of Kevin Phillips who managed to avoid too many serious injuries and kept playing late on, and he had a number of clubs didn't he? "He wasn't always anywhere near first on the starting list but players like that in a tight situation they just have that knowhow, the gumption in those tricky games where you're doing everything except sticking the ball in the back of the net."Gabbiadini added: "We saw it with Jermain Defoe when he came late in his career to Sunderland."He was fantastic. He just had that knack of rolling defenders and balls went into him in the box - he just had the knowhow to manipulate that half a yard of space that you need to score. "I think Vardy definitely falls into that [category]. He might not be able to run as quickly as some players but in that 18-yard area he's dynamite." The 38-year-old would be a far cry from Sunderland's model of signing young players to develop and sell for profit, but the striker's age does not concern Gabbiadini. "He'd bring the average age up but there's nothing wrong with that," he said."There's nothing wrong with being 38 or 39 as a footballer. The only bit that's wrong with it is that you've been a footballer for 22 years and you're absolutely knackered. Your body is falling to bits. "I was fitter, leaner, my body fat was lower at 35 than it was when I was 25 but my knees were knackered. That's the only thing that stopped me playing. "Age, the number doesn't matter. It's about what his body feels like and whether he's still got that desire to do it. He was a late starter to the professional game wasn't he? "He didn't have the intensity. He was working and playing as a part-time player. So there isn't that intensity of being on the training ground every day of the week and the issues that causes."You can listen to more from Marco Gabbiadini on BBC Sounds.
