There are few players talked about more right now across European football than SSC Napoli’s Georgian international starlet Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Born in Tbilisi and a product of the nation’s biggest club, Dinamo Tbilisi, Kvara has quickly become one of the hottest properties on the continent after his storybook rise to prominence since his summer arrival at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Tasked with replacing club icon Lorenzo Insigne, who now plies his trade in MLS with Toronto FC, Kvara has eclipsed expectations from the very start despite having been previously touted as one for the future by a number of top names in the sport, including Italian icon Fabio Capello.
At the time of writing, Kvaratskhelia has bagged eight goals and added ten assists already this season, with no Napoli player having earned greater total goal contributions than the youngster, including star Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
Though Napoli lost 2-0 at Liverpool last night in the Champions League, Reds boss Jürgen Klopp spoke highly of the Georgian after he was once again the club’s leading light on the pitch, stating “He’s a good player, I like him. A really difficult one. Really quick. When he has the advantage of the first movement, he’s gone. He has speed, he is cheeky. He goes inside and outside. He is on fire and didn’t get frustrated.”
But for Kvaratskhelia, who is already subject to serious interest from some of England’s top clubs including Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and cash-backed Newcastle United, there is only one club that he wishes to win the Champions League with; Real Madrid.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before his move to Napoli: “My biggest dream is to win the Champions League.”
Journalist: “In which team?”
Khvicha: “With Real Madrid. Since I was a kid I’m a Real Madrid fan. With my brothers, we were always watching their games.” pic.twitter.com/V41Nrnz1YY
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) November 2, 2022
Most importantly, the revealing of his biggest footballing wish to win the Champions League could leave a potential transfer breadcrumb as early as next summer as top clubs start to queue for his services.
With Napoli said to want close to €90m if they are to sell him after just one season, constituting an 800% profit on the €10m they splashed to secure him from Georgian Dinamo Batumi, there are only a handful of clubs capable of affording such a price point, with Madrid surely being one of them.
Whether or not the Spanish giants would look to move for the hot-shot Georgian, who has already bagged ten goals in just 19-caps for his country while helping Georgia gain promotion to UEFA Nations League Group B, remains to be seen but could be unlikely given the club possessing Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo in the wide births.
That paves the way for PL spending power to come to the fore once more, and a possible arms race at the top of the table could likely kick-off what could be the hottest transfer story of the 2023 summer window.
