According to The Times, Newcastle United are interested in Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Anyone who has seen Kvaratskhelia play so far this season will tell you that this is a player who has burst onto the scene.
He’s grabbed eight goals and eight assists in 16 starts so far this season, and he’s done it in some style, creating a highlight reel this season that even Neymar would be jealous of.
We could genuinely spend all day waxing-lyrical about the 21-year-old’s performances so far this season, but it would be remiss to pretend as though this player is guaranteed to be a success at Newcastle.
Indeed, as much as ‘Kvaradona’ has been a star for Napoli this season, the reality is that he’s unproven.
We mentioned earlier his fantastic record after 16 starts this season, but those are the only 16 starts that Kvaratskhelia has had in elite European competition – he was playing in Russia before getting his move to Napoli.
It’s not all that unlikely that his fantastic start to this season could just be a prolonged purple patch.
We’ve seen runs of form like this before – Newcastle fans know all about this from Papiss Cisse’s first six months in England, and while Kvaratskhelia is looking better than even Cisse did, this could be a flash in the pan.
Signing the Georgian would be a risk, but it’s a risk that could pay off massively.
Indeed, for every one-season-wonder, there is a player labelled a one-season-wonder who goes onto continue his brilliance – take Harry Kane or Riyad Mahrez as two examples.
Kvaratskhelia would be the riskiest signing PIF have made at Newcastle so far, but it could also be the best.
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