One player who’s been linked with Liverpool in recent weeks has now found himself at the centre of a transfer storm involving his agent and his father, with his club also wading into a potentially explosive dispute.
In late April, Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Bacho Tsalugelashvili claimed that the Reds are ‘interested’ in Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who’s set to star for Georgia as they make their European Championship debut this week.
As per Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing on Monday morning, the 23-year-old’s agent has claimed that he and the player ‘want to leave’ the Serie A club and are ‘worried’ that his career could suffer if the forward stays put and has no European football next season.
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The player’s dad has also voiced his preference for his son to depart the Azzurri, citing concerns about the rate of turnover which saw them appoint four different managers last term, although his employers have come out strongly in response.
A statement from Napoli read: “After Kvaratskhelia’s camp statement, we want to remind that he’s under contract until June 2027. Kvaratskhelia is NOT for sale. Player’s agents do NOT decide where they are going, but it’s Napoli deciding when they are under contract.”
Kvaratskhelia has been touted with a move away from Napoli almost from the moment that he joined them two years ago, and after their miserable Serie A title defence last season saw them finish in 10th place, it’d come as no great surprise if he were to move on this summer.
He’s already exhibited his talents on the European stage for his club, so a strong performance for Georgia at Euro 2024 would see his value embellished rather than him being a breakthrough star of the tournament as such.
Liverpool would almost certainly need to break the bank to land the 23-year-old, who’s apparently valued in the €100m-€120m (£85.4m-£102.5m) bracket by the Azzurri, and their statement on the player shows that they don’t intend letting him leave too readily.
With other wingers such as Crysencio Summerville currently being linked more intensely with the Reds, it’s unclear how high Kvaratskhelia is on the priority list for Richard Hughes this summer.
Nonetheless, if he remains a player of firm interest at Anfield, the potential collision course between Napoli and his agent and father could be a situation to watch over the coming weeks.
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