Thierry Henry has been left wowed by Leeds United’s summer transfer target, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, ‘amazing’ Champions League performance as Napoli beat Liverpool 4-1 on Wednesday night.
The 21-year-old was a menace all evening to Liverpool’s backline, including forcing Jurgen Klopp to make a change at half-time, when Joe Gomez was replaced by Joel Matip.
When the 2022 summer transfer window was open, Kvaratskhelia was a player on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs, including Leeds.
But Jesse Marsch’s side, alongside Spurs and Arsenal, missed out on signing the all-action winger, who opted to head to Italy and join Napoli instead.
Well, last night, he showed exactly what those teams were missing out on because, he ran a morale-sapped Liverpool team that had Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk starting, ragged.
Premier League legend Henry was impressed by what he saw from the youngster and this is what he told CBS Sports (07/09/22 at 10:05 pm).
“He had an amazing game,” said Henry. “The way he put pressure. The desire he had, especially on the second goal.
“I saw a player that it wasn’t just about his skill, but his desire he had and the way he pushed the ball past Trent Alexander-Arnold or the way he put pressure on Gomez, was second to none. I like that he has the awareness to see where Zielinski is and we know what happened after that with the penalty. I thought it was the right decision.
“He’s been magnificent. The run and awareness. People will say ‘well what’s so difficult about that?’ Some people don’t see what’s happening on the field and his head was always up. This guy has that little contagious thing. This is why already, the Napoli fans are in love with him.
“Yes, you can be cocky. When you play like that you can be cocky. He delivered against Liverpool, as I said he’s contagious. He has been there for a minute and the Napoli fans love him already. He has heart and skills.”
KHVICHA KVARATSKHELIA WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Aggression, fearless nature and the ability to never give up on a duel, Kvaratskhelia would have been perfect for the Premier League and especially those teams that were keen to sign him.
Leeds like to play on the front foot, to be in the faces of the opposition, to use the hostile Elland Road crowd to their advantage, and a player like Kvaratskhelia would have been perfect for them.
Instead, the Georgia International is wowing supporters on the biggest domestic stage of them all in the Champions League and it will only raise his stock even further.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
