Man Utd get worrying Garnacho update as Kvaratskhelia deal CLOSE

Robin Bairner

• 13 Jan 2025 01:50 CST
• 3 min read

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is close to completing his move away from Napoli – and that is not good news for Manchester United’s hopes of retaining Alejandro Garnacho in January.

Garnacho, along with Marcus Rashford, has been pushed to the periphery of the squad over the course of Ruben Amorin’s spell in charge of the team.

Along with the England winger, he was dramatically left out of the squad for the Manchester derby, although unlike his team-mate, he has been welcomed back into the team since then.

The Kvaratskhelia deal, meanwhile, is set to change everything for Garnacho.

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Current ETV

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

F, AM (L)

Napoli

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

F, AM (L)

Napoli

€72.3M

ETV Range

€54.2M - €90.4M

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The Georgia winger has been a target for Man Utd this January, but it appears that the Old Trafford club will be beaten to him by PSG.

L’Equipe reports that the Ligue 1 leaders are poised to continue talks with Napoli over Kvaratskhelia on Monday and a deal could be struck as early as the middle of the week.

The implications for Man Utd are significant, with Sport Italia revealing that Napoli are eyeing Garnacho as a replacement for the Georgian, who is set to depart for around €60-70 million.

This would offer them the funds to buy the out-of-favour Argentina international.

Conte says he failed Kvaratskhelia

Napoli head coach Antonio Conte has already spoken of his regret that he will more than likely lose Kvaratskhelia in the days ahead.

Speaking after a 2-0 win over Verona, he said: “I am not disappointed in Kvara, but in the situation, because I was not able to have an impact. I think that a coach of a certain level must help the club make decisions and the sporting director choose the players. I am disappointed when I realise that I am not convincing.

“Maybe I was also a little presumptuous because I thought I could have a little more impact. It's a shame because we are talking about a strong and important player, but you also have to understand the reality.

“That said, Kvara is still a Napoli player today. Then there are steps to take in case someone wants to buy him, we'll see what happens.”

Napoli’s interest in Garnacho does give United some hope that they might be able to hijack PSG’s Kvaratskhelia talks, particularly if they hit a stumbling block. The Serie A side, after all, are notoriously difficult to negotiate with, so a swap deal is not off the table yet.