Khvicha Kvaratskhelia asked to leave Naples, says Antonio Conte

Antonio Conte says Naples winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia asked to leave the club.

Athletics reported this week that Liverpool could consider a move for the Georgia international, while Paris Saint-Germain emerged as the main suitor for a player who is on the list of potential targets for teams whose Chelsea.

Napoli are reportedly in no rush to sell the 23-year-old, whose contract expires in 2027, and would only agree to a sale for a significant fee.

“If I speak, I prefer to tell it like it is. I’m not lying,” Naples head coach Conte said on Saturday. “We are talking about an important player (Kvaratskhelia), a player who, when I spoke to the owner, given that Zielinski and Osimhen were already on the way and had to leave, I wanted assurances.

“It takes quality as well as hard work and I have asked that certain players not be sold. Khvicha was one of those players who, and you know it very well, asked to leave this summer. He wasn’t the only one.

“We moved on, but the work I did to persuade the players that they were fundamental to me was easily forgotten. Many of them wanted to take different paths. I worked on it and I’m happy that they stayed and bought into the project.

GO DEEPER

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s future is uncertain – but Napoli will play hard. They always do it

Conte then specifically addressed the future of Kvaratskhelia: “He asked for the club to be sold without beating around the bush. That’s what I was told. The player confirmed his decision to me.

“Personally, I’m very disappointed because for six months I tried to make Kvara feel at the heart of what we do here, showing him that we could do something big while working on a contract extension which, six months later, we are still at the beginning.

“On my part, there is great disappointment. I’m taking things on the chest and haven’t been able to make enough of an impact for both parties to get through this. Now I have to take a step back.

“I can’t chain down someone who wants to leave. I did it this summer. I had six months to convince the parties involved to find a solution. The news fell like a bolt from the blue.

“I am now taking a step back and it is right that the club and Kvara’s entourage resolve this situation. I would never want, if the player stayed, for people to think that I imposed a veto. I did it this summer in the hope of being able to convince him to join the project, but given the results, I was not successful.

“He is not available (this weekend) against Verona and we will see what happens. We are losing an important player.

Kvaratskhelia joined Napoli in the summer of 2022 from Dinamo Batumi and has since established himself as one of the most effective strikers in Europe.

In his first season with the Italian team, he scored 14 goals and provided 17 assists in 43 matches to help lead Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years.

Although Naples had a somewhat disappointing 23-24 season, the forward still scored 11 goals and provided nine assists in addition to leading. Georgia to the round of 16 of Euro 2024, in their first appearance in a major international tournament.

Kvaratskhelia, who has scored 17 goals in 40 matches for his country, started all four of Georgia’s matches and scored in a 2-0 win against Portugal in June 2024 to send his nation to the round of 16.

This campaign he has scored five goals and provided three assists to help Napoli move three points clear of Atalanta at the top of Serie A.

GO DEEPER

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian Maradona of Naples too hot to handle

Analysis by Jacob Whitehead of The Athletic

Kvaratskhelia burst into the wider consciousness during a spellbinding 2022-23 campaign at Napoli, where 12 league goals and 13 assists led Luciano Spalletti’s side to their first Series A title in 33 years. The city gave him a new nickname, borrowed from their greatest footballing son: “Kvaradona”.

The 2023-24 season was less spectacular, with Napoli falling to 10th in the league following Spalleti’s departure. However, Kvaratskhelia only scored one goal less, despite a lack of continuity behind him at left-back. This season he has five goals in 17 Serie A matches as Napoli have re-emerged as title contenders – they are currently top of the table.

What is his secret? Watching Kvaratskhelia is different from watching most left wingers – he is physically taller and stockier, with his dribbling style particularly upright. But these traits, combined with superb technical ability, force defenders to make late and hasty decisions, and he is then fast, strong and ambidextrous enough to take the opposite route.

He generally ranked well for runs into the penalty area and progressive runs. His offensive game is also varied. During the 2023-24 season, only 52% of his shot-creating actions – indicating the two offensive actions that lead to a shot – came from open play passes, the third lowest rate among Serie A forwards this season. season.

In this sense, Kvaratskhelia is essentially system independent. He only needs the ball at his feet and then creates his own chances.

(Top photo: Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)