Liverpool are ‘interested’ in £100m+ wizard who’s been urged to leave ‘crisis’ club – report

A European journalist has claimed that Liverpool are ‘interested’ in a devastating attacker who’s been urged to leave his current club.

Gazzetta dello Sport’s Bacho Tsalugelashvili was speaking to 1 Station Radio about Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose agent is reportedly due to meet with the Serie A club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis in the coming days.

The journalist claimed (via Area Napoli): “I think the agent will meet the president next week. However, either the contract renewal will materialise or Kvara will go to a top club. I don’t know if it is Barcelona or another team.

“Could it be a Premier League club? I don’t know. Liverpool is also interested in Kvaratskhelia, even if Barcelona’s interest is more concrete.”

Tsalugelashvili cited a likely valuation of €100m-€120m (£85.4m-£102.5m) for the Georgia international, adding: “What is Kvara’s will? I don’t know. However, I would advise the player to leave a club in crisis like Napoli to join a top club in La Liga or the Premier League.”

Despite Napoli enduring a miserable defence to the Serie A title they won so emphatically last year – they’re currently ninth in the table and unlikely to qualify for any European competition – Kvaratskhelia has continued to impress.

The 23-year-old – who’ll be appearing at Euro 2024 for his country next month – has 10 goals and nine assists to his name this season, with 50 goal contributions in 85 appearances in total for Gli Azzurri.

David Ornstein told The Athletic FC Podcast in recent days that Liverpool are ‘looking for a wide player’ this summer, so the left-sided Georgia wizard could indeed be a player on the Merseysiders’ radar.

The price range being mooted for Kvaratskhelia would require FSG to dig deep for the forward, and despite the LFC owners’ parsimonious reputation, they’ve shown in the past that they’re not afraid to push the boat out for a potentially game-changing player, as evidenced by the acquisitions of Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk.

The 23-year-old has been frequently cited as a potential Reds target in the past, so it’ll be interesting to see if anything concrete develops on that front over the summer as Arne Slot prepares to take over from Jurgen Klopp in the dugout.