Georgian striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, coveted by several media by Paris SG, will stay in Naples, assured his new coach Antonio Conte on Wednesday during his official presentation.
“It remains, I was very categorical on the subject and I would not want us to hear this refrain again in the future”declared the former Italian coach. “The way he plays, he has strong characteristics, players like him, there are fewer and fewer of them, wanting to keep him is not a whim”, continued Conte. In mid-June, Napoli responded to the statements of the father and the agent of “Fourth” who assured that he wanted to leave Naples with a press release recalling that “It is not the agents or the father who (decide) the future of a player under contract with Naples, it is the club which decides.” Kvaratskhelia, currently at the Euro with Georgia, is according to several media one of PSG’s priority targets to strengthen its offensive sector after the departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid.
Arriving in Naples in 2022, the 23-year-old striker was one of the architects of Napoli’s coronation in 2023 with his twelve goals. He scored eleven in the league this season during a catastrophic exercise for the outgoing champion. To replace the Nigerian Victor Osimhen who received an exit voucher as part of his contract extension in 2023, Naples would be interested in the Belgian Romelu Lukaku, loaned this season to Roma by Chelsea. Information that Conte confirmed half-heartedly: “We are talking about an excellent player, like Osimhen. But there is nothing else to say, you have to admire him when he plays and always hope to have him in your team”.
For his return to Italy after two seasons at Tottenham, Conte promised that his team “will be hungry”. “I can’t promise victories, because there are teams more powerful than us from an economic point of view, but I want my team to be an angry team. She’s coming out of a year where a lot of things didn’t work, I want this anger to be seen on the pitch.”, he hoped. Crowned Italian champion in 2023 under the direction of Luciano Spalletti, Naples experienced a nightmare season with three different coaches, including Frenchman Rudi Garcia, to finish in 11th place in Serie A.
