Report: Man City and Newcastle eye Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Osimhen celebrates with his partner in crime Kvaratskhelia

TRANSFERS Report: Man City and Newcastle eye Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Faruq Ibrahim 14:57 - 06.03.2023

Manchester City and Newcastle United are reportedly interested in Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Victor Osimhen and his attacking partner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have set Serie A alight this season, placing them on the radar of big European teams. With Manchester United constantly linked with the Nigerian, his Georgian teammate is now reported to be of interest to United's city rivals Manchester City as well as new big boys of the league Newcastle United 

Kvaratskhelia attracting Premier League attention

Teamtalk reported a conversation with CBS journalist Ben Jacobs, in which he confirmed interest from the Premier League sides.

Kvaratskhelia has been on fire for Napoli this season
Kvaratskhelia has been on fire for Napoli this season

He acknowledged that leaving might not be on the cards for either Victor Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia, but confirmed genuine interest from Manchester City and Newcastle United. He also claimed Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were keeping tabs.

“There’s absolutely no guarantee that Victor Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia will end up leaving in the summer, but there will be demand, and Newcastle and Manchester City are two of the clubs in particular, along with others like Real Madrid and PSG, that are looking at him,” Jacobs told GiveMeSport.

“It’s obvious why because ultimately, he’s had a standout season, scoring goals and getting assists for fun. He’s scored 10 goals in Serie A in only 20 matches, and it’s an incredible rise really.”

Kvaratskhelia's agent, Mumuka Jugheli, also confirmed interest in his client last month, admitting there have been lots of inquiries from many clubs—without naming any specifically—but explaining that Khvicha was only thinking about winning the Scudetto with Napoli and competing to win the Champions League.

The allure of Kvaratskhelia

The Georgian winger is a rare type of wide playmaker and is very effective, number-wise. He and Victor Osimhen have helped Napoli create a 15-point gap at the top of Serie A.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Kvaratskheli's numbers this season have been special, and he is one of the few players in Europe's top five leagues to have crossed the double figures in goals and assists mark, with 12 goals and 15 assists in Serie A and the Champions League.  

It remains to be seen if he will remain a Partenopei next season, however, he is expected to cost over £100 million for whoever tries to land him.