Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has taken Serie A by storm, bagging three goals in his first two appearances with Napoli. The Partenopei acquired him for a cheap fee. However, the deal wasn’t easy and came to fruition after a lengthy chase.
As Gianluca Di Marzio revealed on Corriere della Sera, the Azzurri first eyed the Georgian starlet three years ago. Former Milan defender Cristian Zaccardo was the first one to indicate him. However, his price tag was very high at the time, €25/30M. Multiple Premier League sides were also keeping tabs, particularly the Manchester duo.
The Partenopei stayed in touch through deputy sporting director Maurizio Micheli. During his time helming Napoli, Gennaro Gattuso reached out to his ex-Milan teammate Kakhaber Kaladze to get to know the character of Kvaratskhelia better. The transfer could have materialized sooner.
The Azzurri accelerated once Lorenzo Insigne told them he would leave. The war in Ukraine made things easier, significantly lowering the cost. They sealed the deal in late March, beating out Milan, Juventus, and Sassuolo, which had started to pursue him.
President Aurelio De Laurentiis completed the purchase with his agent Jugeli Mamuka in a hotel in Rome. Curiously, the first one to know was Gomorra’s actor Genny Savastano, whose fame reached Georgia, as the representative asked for a picture together to commemorate the event. The chairman phoned Luciano Spalletti right after. The coach had urged to get it done because other teams were poking around.
Our Take on Napoli and Kvaratskhelia
It’s obviously still early and the sample size very small, but this acquisition and Kim Min-Jae’s one could further prove that planning, determination, eye for talent, and inventiveness can easily compensate for budget problems.
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