Napoli-Kvaratskhelia contract crisis alerts Arsenal

Carlo Garganese

• 31 Jan 2024 15:45 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal could renew their interest in Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the Georgian struggles to make any headway over a contract renewal.

The winger inspired Napoli to an historic Scudetto last season and has been demanding a new deal and payrise for around a year now.

Despite being one of the best players in Serie A, Kvaratskhelia is one of the lowest-paid players at Napoli on just €1.5 million per year.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis first of all refused to even discuss a new, improved contract in 2023, which angered the player and his entourage greatly.

Now, according to CalcioNapoli24, De Laurentiis is sitting down to discuss a new deal but the gap between what Kvara wants and what Napoli are offering is huge.

De Laurentiis is not prepared to go any higher than €4m per year, which is well short of what Kvaratskhelia is worth.

As a result, there is the very real possibility Kvaratskehlia could demand to leave this summer if his demands are not satisfied.

Arsenal have admired the player for several months now and could be tempted into making a new approach at the end of the season.

Kvaratskhelia at Napoli

Kvaratskhelia was one of the breakout stars of European football last season during a historic campaign for the Partenopei.

He moved to Napoli from Dinamo Batumi last summer for €10 million – and that proved to be the bargain of the season.

He scored 14 goals and assisted 14 in all competitions as Napoli won their first Scudetto in 33 years.

He delivered a string of brilliant performances, including tearing Juventus apart 5-1 in January and Liverpool 4-1 in the Champions League.

This has led to many of Europe’s biggest clubs being interested in signing the star in 2024.

This season, Kvara has not been as impressive.

He ended last season badly and that poor form spilled into the current campaign. At one point, he went six months without scoring a goal, also contributing only one assist during this time.

It has been claimed by some that Kvaratskhelia’s contract situation was a cause for his decline in form.

Napoli are enduring a disastrous season, and are currently ninth in Serie A.

He has five goals and four assists in 28 games this term for Napoli.