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‘Didn’t agree’: Agent says £20m Paratici target snubbed Tottenham move

Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images
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Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur tried to bring Kvicha Kvaratskhelia to the Premier League before the long-time Fabio Paratici target joined Serie A giants Napoli on a free transfer, agent Mamuka Dzhugeli tells Nobel Arustamyan’s YouTube channel. 

It’s safe to say Paratici is a big fan of a player who earned comparisons with both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery while being linked a big-money move away from Russian outfit Rubin Kazan some 12 months ago. 

As Dzhugeli explains, Kvaratshkelia was on the verge of joining Juventus in 2021 before Paratici departed. 

The Italian director then tried to pick up where he left off in North London. But Kvaratskhelia, who was valued at £20 million at the time, had little interest in joining Tottenham on a temporary basis while a host of other suitors were willing to put a permanent contract on the table. 

“Khvicha had a preliminary contract with Juventus, but the club’s sports director Fabio Paratici left. If Fabio hadn’t left Juventus, Khvicha would have moved there,” Dzhugeli says.

“After Paratici left for Tottenham, they wanted to sign Kvicha on loan but we did not agree. The player himself was against the loan.” 

Tottenham tried to sign Napoli’s Kvicha Kvaratskhelia

Kvaratskhelia eventually put pen to paper with a Napoli side who finished third in the Italian top-flight last season, joining on a free transfer after his contract at Rubin Kazan was torn up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kvaratskhelia Arsenal Tottenham Napoli
Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images

And Dzhugeli insists that, if the spring-heeled 21-year-old lives up to expectations at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, his price-tag will soar once again. 

“Kvaratskhelia is an invaluable player for me. How much would he cost? I think Kvaratskhelia is not worth less than 50 million euros. This is my opinion and he will prove to be worth more,” the agent adds.

“He has no ceiling, and he will only improve. I know him not only as a player but also as a person. He is a professional who would give up everything for the sake of football, for the sake of his career.”

Dzhugeli adds that AC Milan, Sassuolo and Juventus (again) showed interest in Kvaratskhelia before he agreed a five-year deal with Napoli in April. 

Photo by Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images