Liverpool could consider a move to sign Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli — should it be decided that he is to exit the club in this transfer window.
Kvaratskhelia, 23, has established himself among Europe’s leading attackers since arriving from Russian side Rubin Kazan in the summer of 2022.
The Georgia international is under contract at Napoli until June 2027 and the lack of movement relating to a fresh deal has encouraged interest from elsewhere regarding a move to recruit him.
Paris Saint-Germain are emerging as the leading contenders, while Kvaratskhelia also features on the list of potential targets for teams like Chelsea.
Napoli are in no rush to lose a player who has scored 30 goals and added 29 assists in 107 appearances for the club and would only countenance a sale for a significant fee.
Liverpool are also attentive to the situation, despite being well stocked in the wide attacking areas as things stand. Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez can all operate from the left-hand side; Kvaratskhelia’s most effective position.
That means it may take a significant departure to create space for an addition such as Kvaratskhelia — irrespective of Napoli’s interest in Federico Chiesa, who has barely featured since making a switch to Liverpool from Juventus last August.
Liverpool are not specifically chasing a player of Kvaratskhelia’s profile but he is somebody they admire, are keeping tabs on and will be ready to contend for if it becomes a market opportunity.
Kvaratskhelia’s international team-mate Giorgi Mamardashvili signed with Liverpool last August and will arrive from Valencia in July.
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‘At an acceptable price, Kvaratskhelia’s appeal is clear’
Analysis from The Athletic’s Liverpool Writer James Pearce
Liverpool’s approach in the January window is that they will only add to Arne Slot’s squad if a special market opportunity arises that makes long-term sense.
If Napoli were willing to sell someone of the calibre of Kvaratskhelia at an acceptable price this month then the appeal would be clear.
Liverpool didn’t add to their squad last January but they proved in previous winter windows that they will respond quickly and decisively if there’s an attractive deal to be done.
The signings of Cody Gakpo (from PSV in January 2023) and Luis Diaz (from Porto in January 2022) were examples of Liverpool moving swiftly for players they had initially intended to pursue the following summer when it became apparent that they were available midway through the season.
The situation regarding squad planning is complicated by the fact that Liverpool don’t know exactly what areas they will need to strengthen come the end of the season as contract talks with Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold rumble on.
Analysis from The Athletic’s Jacob Whitehead
Kvaratskhelia broke into the wider consciousness during a spellbinding 2022-23 campaign at Napoli, where 12 goals and 13 assists in the league led Luciano Spalletti’s side to their first Serie A title in 33 years. The city bequeathed him a new nickname, borrowed from their greatest footballing son — ‘Kvaradona’.
The 2023-24 season was less spectacular, with Napoli slumping to 10th in the league after Spalleti’s departure. However, Kvaratskhelia tallied only one fewer goal, despite suffering from a lack of continuity behind him at left-back. This season, he has five goals from 17 Serie A appearances as Napoli have re-emerged as title contenders – they currently top the table.
What’s his secret? Watching Kvaratskhelia is different from watching most left-wingers — he is physically larger and stockier, with his dribbling style idiosyncratically upright. But these traits, allied with superb technical ability, force defenders into making late and hasty decisions, and he is then quick, strong and ambidextrous enough to go the other way.
He has generally ranked highly for carries into the penalty area and progressive carries. His attacking game also has variety. In the 2023-24 season, just 52 per cent of his shot-creating actions — denoting the two attacking actions that lead to a shot — came from open-play passes, the third-lowest rate among forwards in Serie A that season.
In this sense, Kvaratskhelia is essentially system-independent. He only needs the ball to feet and then creates his own chances.
(Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
