“He can leave for Chelsea” – Club coach informs Chelsea £87M target ‘has now asked to be sold’ this January
Napoli boss Antonio Conte says winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has “asked to be sold” amid interest from the likes of CHELSEA, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain this January window.
Kvaratskhelia is a player that all the big clubs have been linked with over the past few seasons and is a man that was heavily tipped to leave Napoli last summer if his £87 million asking price was met, but in the end he stayed at the Italians.
However – Sky in Italy said on Thursday that Kvaratskhelia had made the decision that he now wanted to leave Napoli this Transfer window, and all sorts of speculation has been gathering pace over the past few days.
Conte has now confirmed the winger could be on the move this month. He said: “Regarding Kvara, he has now asked the club to be sold. I’m telling you without mincing any words.
“It was signalled to me and then the player himself confirmed it to me. Personally, I feel really disappointed, I spent six months with him and the rest of the team, making him feel at the centre of the project.
“We worked with the club to get his contract renewed, but after six months we are back to square one.
“I take these things head on, but I haven’t had the cutting edge [to keep him]. Now I’m at a point where I have to take a step back, because I can’t chain people to the club who don’t want to be here.
“It was a bolt from the blue. Now the player’s representatives and the club will resolve the situation. And if he ever stays, he must never think I wanted to chain him to the club.
“I did this this summer, a bit presumptuously as I thought I would be able to convince him. I didn’t succeed.
“And obviously, he is not available to play against Verona.”