With Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s agent and father recently stating the player’s desire to leave Napoli, the winger will be using Georgia’s European Championship debut as an audition for willing buyers.
This is despite Napoli taking to social media to outline their intentions to keep the attacker, insisting that he is not for sale.
In late March, the small Eastern European nation of Georgia made history as they beat Greece in a penalty shootout to secure a spot in Euro 2024 despite all odds.
A huge reason for their warming success story was Kvaratskhelia, who was a vital contributor during qualification.
Kvaratskhelia made his international debut in 2019 against Gibraltar and has since gone on to score 15 times for his nation in 30 appearances. The winger's domestic and international success has brought a lot of media attention to the small nation, something that will only grow throughout this tournament .
The recent transfer speculation regarding Kvaratskhelia has also put Georgia’s talisman further into the spotlight ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Portugal on the 18th June.
But the question remains, just how good is Kvaratskhelia, and why are the world's elite vying for his signature?
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Kvaratskhelia’s early career
The in-demand winger started his career at Dinamo Tbisili in the top-flight of Georgian football, scoring his first professional goal at just 16-years-old as he began to become a hot topic in the division.
Kvaratskhelia had never been one to shy away from his beliefs, terminating his contract with Dinamo after failing to reach an agreement regarding playing time.
The winger dropped down to the Georgian second tier before being snapped up by Lokomotiv Moscow on loan.
It was during his time in Russia where Kvaratskhelia’s reputation began to grow, being included in the top 60 youngsters in the world by The Guardian newspaper.
After a short loan spell in Moscow, the youngster made the 850km trip east to join Rubin Kazan, the club where he found his feet and began to flourish.
The technician played 69 times for the club, demonstrating his eye for goal by netting 23 times whilst playing out on the left wing. The youngster was voted Russian Premier League Player of the Month four times during a three-year spell.
The winger soon found himself without a club due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict which saw Kvaratskhelia’s contract terminated. The same day, Kvaratskhelia returned to Georgia to play for Dinamo Batumi.
The Georgian club could only enjoy the winger's services for 11 matches, with European giants Napoli paying just over €10m for the hot prospect.
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Instant success with Napoli
In 2022, Kvaratskhelia officially joined Napoli and both the club and player could only dream of the success they would achieve together in Italy.
During his Serie A debut against Hellas Verona, the Georgian scored and assisted in a 5-2 win which was shortly followed with two goals in a 4-0 thrashing of Monza. Kvaratskhelia soon received the Serie A August Player of the Month, with the media beginning to turn towards Napoli as they continued to impress.
The 2022/23 season would prove to the catalyst for the Kvaratskhelia to really kick on as he was vital in Napoli’s first Scudetto win in 33 years. He was awarded Serie A MVP and the UEFA Champions League young player of the year award for his efforts.
Last season, Napoli fell culprit of their own success and failed to qualify for European football. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old continued to impress and currently boasts an impressive 23 goal return in 68 games.
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What will Kvaratskhelia bring to Euro 2024?
The Georgian star is a unique footballer in the modern day and is often referred to as a ‘throwback winger’ due to his willingness to run at opponents, hence his nickname 'Kvaradona', fittingly named after Napoli legend Diego Maradona.
Kvaratskhelia has a vicious right foot and will look to shift the ball to his stronger side at any given moment. However, the winger has demonstrated his ability to fake a shift to his right and beat the defender on the outside with his weaker left foot - a very unpredictable style that is almost impossible to defend.
With his close control and added desire to work hard, Kvaratskhelia cultivated a key relationship with Victor Osimhen for Napoli which resulted in a lot of goals. Georgia fans will hope the winger can duplicate his relationship that he has at club level with their striker Budu Zivzivadze.
The attacker’s skill set is similar to those of a Brazilian and the Georgian does not need any encouragement to showboat.
The thrilling attacker has a wand of a right foot and often bends the ball with his in-step to find the far corners. Kvaratskhelia will not shy away from striking from distance, particularly with the amount of force he can put behind the ball - making him a goalkeeper's nightmare.
With Georgia being placed in a difficult Group F alongside Portugal, Czech Republic and Turkey, who are all European Championship ever-presents of recent times, Kvaratskhelia will have to be on top form if his nation are to progress into the knockout phase.
With or without transfer controversy, Kvaratskhelia will certainly be a player to look out for this summer in Germany.
