Napoli fear ‘DANGEROUS’ Chelsea and Arsenal over Kvaratskhelia - Romano

Robin Bairner

• 16 Mar 2024 12:59 GMT
• 3 min read

Napoli are working to secure the future of winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before his situation becomes “dangerous”, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Kvaratskhelia burst onto the scene last season after moving to the Serie A giants from Dinamo Batumi, leading to interest from many of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Napoli were able to fend off interest last summer, but with Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona among the teams circling this time around, there is fresh concern in Naples over the future of the 23-year-old Georgia international winger.

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Romano has revealed that while the Serie A outfit are prepared to allow Victor Osimhen to depart – Chelsea and Arsenal are also hotly pursuing a deal for the Nigeria striker – their stance is very different with Kvaratskhelia.

“Napoli’s expectation is for Victor Osimhen to leave the club in the summer and for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to extend his contract. The Italian team wants to get the new deal done as soon as possible, with the player’s agent saying everything will be clear by the end of May,” Romano revealed on the Daily Briefing.

“It’s crucial for the Partnopei to close this new deal quickly, otherwise there could be a dangerous situation that develops in the summer.

“That’s because there is interest from many clubs - Barcelona, clubs in England and others - but nothing is concrete at the moment.”

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Napoli's position a strong one

Kvaratskhelia is under contract with Napoli until 2027 and has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €52.4m.

In reality, though, the Serie A side’s situation is such that they would demand a fee far in excess of this to be prompted into a sale.

Losing Osimhen this summer for a fee in the region of €120-130m will significantly strengthen their financial position but it will also make it all the more important that they do not allow other key performers, such as Kvaratskhelia, to depart.

Indeed, the onus will be on Napoli to invest the Osimhen money in new players to keep Kvaratskhelia happy, but some of that deal should also go towards funding a new and improved contract for a player whose status in the squad is set to rise once again.