Scouting Report: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has burst onto the scene in 2022-23 and become one of the most sought-after assets in European football.
Napoli have had an extremely prosperous first half of the season, emerging as favourites to win the Scudetto for the first time since 1990.
And one of their shining lights has been the Georgian-born winger, who has developed a habit of embarrassing Serie A defenders with ease.
Following his remarkable rise, we’ve enlisted the help of the Twenty3 Toolbox to identify what makes Kvaratskhelia so special.
Rise to the top
Georgian born and raised, it was only fitting that Kvaratskhelia’s big break came in his native country.
Following spells in Russia, he caught the attention of Napoli after impressing for Dinamo Batumi last season. He only played 11 matches, but those 761 minutes were more than enough to convince the Partenopei to move for him.
The 21-year-old scored eight goals and grabbed two assists — an impressive return given his limited game-time.
Furthermore, he completed more dribbles per 90 minutes (6.15) than any other player in the Georgian top flight.
End product
Kvaratskhelia was a largely unknown quantity when he arrived in Italy — and his explosive form came as a shock to many.
The young wide player’s end product has been impressive — already notching six Serie A goals.
The 21-year-old has not looked out of place on the Champions League stage either, netting twice in five appearances.
His performances have been so eye-catching that even those outside of Italy are beginning to sit up and take notice.
Creativity
Kvaratskhelia is more than just a goalscorer, however — and is perhaps even better at creating chances than he is at finishing them off.
His constant probing has caused terror down the left-hand side for Napoli.
The winger is constantly looking to set up teammates and has shown the composure needed to pick out the right pass in the final third.
He has five assists in Serie A, the joint-second highest figure in the league — only behind Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (seven).
Direct
Among the most sought-after traits in a wide player is the ability to glide past players in one-on-one situations.
Skilled dribblers are particularly useful when attempting to break down defensive blocks, tempting opposition defenders to jump out of shape and make a challenge.
Kvaratskhelia’s ability to take players on is truly mesmerising — his low centre of gravity allows him to twist and turn out of tight spaces.
He has attempted the third-most dribbles in Serie A (84), only behind Lameck Banda (95) and Rafael Leão (111).
History to be made
Kvaratskhelia, despite only joining Napoli in June, has a serious chance to carve his name into the Italian club’s history books.
If this Partenopei squad claim a third-ever Serie A title, they will certainly be long remembered by supporters.
Kvaratskhelia has been one of the most prominent members of the side so far, with his emergence transforming Napoli into one of the most dangerous offensive outfits in Europe — he will be one of the heroes of any successful Scudetto charge.
Incredibly, Napoli remain unbeaten in the league, scoring the most goals and completing the most passes — they have a real chance of lifting the trophy this year.
Premier League ready
Whenever a young star breaks out, Premier League links invariably crop up.
Kvaratskhelia’s case is no different, and the winger has already been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United.
The Magpies appear the most likely to make a move, given the Reds have landed Cody Gakpo and the Gunners’ top target appears to be Mkhailo Mudryk.
Eddie Howe’s ambitious outfit would certainly be elevated by a player of his quality as they look to establish themselves as one of the league’s leading clubs.
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