Chelsea must right their Mudryk wrong with blockbuster Kvaratskhelia move

Tom Weber

• Updated: 26 Feb 2024 21:32 GMT
• 5 min read

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's agent has hinted that his client could be on the market in the summer and this presents a brilliant opportunity for Chelsea to fix their left-wing issues.

The Blues have a problem that was once again evident in their Carabao Cup final loss to a youthful Liverpool side. Despite significant investment, their attack is still far from potent. The likes of Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk only rarely show glimpses of real quality, while Raheem Sterling, still a brilliant player on his day, is reportedly a candidate to be sold in the summer.

Mudryk in particular has been nothing short of an egregiously bad signing for Chelsea. The Ukraine international, who arrived last year in a deal potentially worth as much as €100 million, has thus far recorded just four goals and five assists in 43 outings for his side.

The 23-year-old has been out of the Chelsea starting lineup for several weeks now and head coach Mauricio Pochettino already warned him at the beginning of the month that he needs to massively step up his game. "As coaching staff, we are a meritocracy – we are going to play with the players who are going to do their best on the pitch...Of course, he needs to improve," he said.

Mudryk's lack of effectiveness was again evident in the Carabao Cup final when he failed to have any kind of tangible impact in 30 minutes of football, failing to perform against a Liverpool side decimated by injuries.

Khvicha the ideal upgrade

While Chelsea need to keep the faith in Mudryk in public given their significant outlay on him, it is difficult to imagine that there aren't several senior figures at the club who believe that the ship has sailed for him after a year in English football with little improvement to speak of.

At this point, the Blues seriously have to consider cutting their losses and a player who would be an ideal replacement - and upgrade - would be Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian is facing an uncertain future at crisis-stricken Napoli and could be on the move in the summer.

Indeed, the 23-year-old's agent has revealed that several top clubs are queuing up to sign him. "Barcelona and PSG? Of course, there are offers for Khvicha from top clubs. Look at him! How can there be no proposals? In May, things will become clearer.”

Napoli's dire season has gone hand in hand with a marked drop in production from a player who was dubbed 'Kvaradona' last term. Kvaratskhelia has only notched six goals and five assists so far this term, which is still a better return than Mudryk boasts, mind.

Nevertheless, data experts SciSports still believe that the Georgian is twice the player his Ukrainian counterpart is. In fact, they already rate Kvaratskhelia higher than Mudryk even if the latter were to come good, giving him a potential of 93.5, while the Napoli man has a current ability of 93.7 and a potential of 118.6.

Moreover, Chelsea are believed to be an ideal destination for Khvicha, bested only by Real Madrid who will, of course, soon have none other than Kylian Mbappe in that left-wing spot. So, the Blues essentially are his best next club. As per SciSports' Career Advice tool, Chelsea have a very good Club Fit rating of 81.

The Georgian wouldn't come cheap of course. He currently has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €51m and Napoli will likely demand a big premium as he is still under contract until 2027.

However, given that Chelsea have spent north of €1 billion on incomings under Todd Boehly, another €80m, €90m or €100m would be a drop in the ocean.