Rubin Kazan coach Leonid Slutsky admits he’s in the dark regarding an “imminent move to Tottenham Hotspur” for his exciting, £20 million-rated winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, speaking to Championat.
Just when it appeared as though this particular transfer saga was over, Kvaratskhelia’s agent picked the perfect time to thrust the highly rated Georgia international back into the limelight with just a fortnight of the window remaining.
Kvaratshkelia, a winger compared to Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben thanks to his speed and skill, has spent much of the summer being linked with a move to Leeds United.
The player himself confirmed a few weeks ago he’d held talks with the Elland Road outfit.
But with Leeds now prioritising a commanding central midfielder, the interest in Kvaratskhelia appeared to be drying up.
That was, of course, until his representative jumped at the chance to point out Wolves, Everton, Brighton and, yes, Tottenham Hotspur had all expressed an interest at some point this summer.
Slutsky, however, is still counting on Kvaratskhelia, having started the winger in all three of Rubin Kazan’s Russian Premier League games this season.
Agent puts Tottenham in the race to sign Kvaratskhelia
“I don’t know anything about Khvichy’s imminent move to Tottenham. Usually, his agent speaks on this topic. It is better to ask him,” said the former Hull City, Russia and Vitesse Arnhem coach.
Now, we’re not sure when Tottenham expressed their interest.
Was it before the north London giants brought in Spain international Bryan Gil from Sevilla? Like Kvaratskhelia, Gil is an old-fashioned, chalk-booted winger at his most effective on the left-hand side.
And we can probably rule out Everton at this stage too.
Toffees director Marcel Brands was quizzed about Kvaratskhelia earlier in the summer, insisting it was the winger’s camp that approached Everton rather than the other way round.
“These are all rumours. The agent just sent me his name yesterday asking if he was of interest to us,” Brands said at the time.
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