Days after it emerged that Liverpool were considering a move for Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian has now officially requested a transfer.
Kvaratskhelia was revealed as a potential January target for the Reds on Thursday night, with The Athletic‘s David Ornstein and the Times‘ Paul Joyce reporting their interest.
Paris Saint-Germain have been in active talks with Napoli over a deal, with the Serie A club seeking a deal worth €80 million (£67m), but Liverpool are seen as waiting in the wings for an opportunistic move.
That could now take a step closer, with Napoli manager Antonio Conte confirming on Saturday that the 23-year-old had requested a transfer.
“We are talking about an important player,” Conte told reporters.
“Last summer I spoke to the president and I wanted to have some technical certainties by demanding the confirmation of some important players.
“Even though he and others had asked to be sold, I worked on it and managed to keep who I wanted.
“[Kvaratskhelia] asked the club to be sold. I am disappointed, I realised that it was a bolt from the blue and I am taking a step back.
“I would never want him to think that I have chained him here if he were to stay.
“I did it last summer thinking of convincing him of the goodness of the project but evidently I did not succeed.
“We are losing an important player.”
It remains to be seen, of course, whether Liverpool will now begin the process of attempting a deal for Kvaratskhelia or if this transfer request is simply paving the way for a switch to PSG.
Reacting to the initial reports, journalist David Lynch suggested that the club’s approach could emulate that seen when they signed Luis Diaz from Porto in 2022.
“This is something they’ve done before, this is an approach we’ve seen them take previously,” Lynch explained on YouTube.
“I remember back when Luis Diaz joined Liverpool in the January window that Tottenham went as far as agreeing a fee with Porto, before Liverpool pounced.
“I think what they did in that situation, and I think this is a similar approach they’ll take this time around, is allow Spurs to do all the legwork really before diving in and making their move.
“Allowing Spurs to find out what fee Porto would agree in that case and then be ready to make the move.
“So I think it’s going to be a similar approach here: find out what it would take for Napoli to sanction a sale and then dive in.”
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