There is currently ‘no interest at all’ in Kvicha Kvaratskhelia despite reports linking the Rubin Kazan winger with Premier League duo Everton and Southampton, agent Timur Gurtskaya tells Sport Business.
From flavour of the month to forgotten man.
Barely a day went by last summer without Kvaratskhelia being linked with some club or another.
The jet-heeled Georgia international held talks with Leeds United. And we know that to be true because the man himself admitted as such.
Gurtskaya, meanwhile, claimed that Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace had expressed an interest too, only to be put off by Rubin’s £18 million asking price.
At the time, Kvaratskhelia was one of the hottest prospects in Russian football, his exhilarating performances resulting in comparisons with both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
Hardly bad company for an exciting young wideman to keep.
Could Kvicha Kvaratskhelia still end up in the Premier League?
Flash forward to January 2022 however and, for the most part, Kvaratskhelia has faded into the background.
Everton and Southampton were linked recently – much to the delight of former Toffees ace Andrei Kanchelskis – but even that has gone quiet with both clubs focusing their efforts elsewhere.
“There is no talk about Khvicha at all,” Gurtskaya says. “It’s as if such a player does not exist. There is no interest in the player at all.”
Last season, Kvaratskhelia produced four goals and eight assists from his favoured left wing role. In 2021/22, his tally has fallen dramatically, to one goal and three assists.
Rubin Kazan, meanwhile, have slipped to tenth in the table following four defeats in their last five games.
“If he still fails in the spring, will there be interest in him,” Gurtskaya adds. “And will (Rubin) now sell him for £10 million?
“For Rubin is a very important spring. The autumn was so disastrous that everything fell in price.”
Everton have spent over £30 million on full-back duo Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson this month. Further arrivals look unlikely, however, with neither a manager nor a director of football currently in place.
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