How Napoli lost Kvaratskhelia: Conte talks, PSG swoop and Osimhen similarities | OneFootball

Napoli look set to lose star forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain during the January transfer window, as Antonio Conte has confirmed that the player has submitted a transfer request and will not be involved in the club’s next league fixture on Sunday.

Here is how and why Napoli failed to convince their star player to renew his contract, despite sitting at the top of the Serie A table.

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Kvaratskhelia: A meteoric rise at Napoli

Arriving in Serie A as a relative unknown in the summer of 2022, it cost Napoli just €12m to secure Kvaratskhelia’s services from Dinamo Batumi.

There was no looking back from there, as the Georgian went on to have an MVP-calibre season in his first year in Italy, which resulted in Napoli’s first Scudetto win in over 30 years, dating back to Diego Maradona’s time in Naples.

There were already suggestions that Napoli could look to sell either or both of Kvaratskhelia and leading goalscorer at the time Victor Osimhen in the summer following the Scudetto win, but Napoli managed to keep the players together for one more year, despite the departure of head coach Luciano Spalletti immediately after the season finished.

Celebrated by Partenopei fans at the time, keeping hold of both Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen that summer would prove to be a risky move for the club.

Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo (C) holds the Italian Scudetto Championship trophy as he and his teammates celebrate winning the 2023 Scudetto championship title on June 4, 2023, following the Italian Serie A football match between Napoli and Sampdoria at the Diego-Maradona stadium in Naples. (Photo by Ciro FUSCO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CIRO FUSCO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

2023-24 proves costly for Napoli

Napoli came down with a hefty hangover following their Serie A title win.

The 2023-24 campaign could not have gone much worse, as the team went through three different coaches in Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona before finishing the season in 10th place, much closer to the relegation zone than they were to first place.

By that point, questions had already begun to be asked as to whether Napoli would be able to keep hold of their players long term

There had been reports of a potential sale of Kvaratskhelia over the summer of 2024. PSG were at the forefront back then as well, with claims the Parisians were prepared to spend €200m on Napoli duo Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen to replace current Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe.

PSG were ultimately unable to get a deal done for Kvaratskhelia in the summer, as Antonio Conte tried to convince him to stay put at the Stadio Maradona long-term.

PSG continued in their attempts to sign Osimhen, but his Napoli exit went on to collapse in spectacular fashion on deadline day, which forced Napoli into sending the Nigerian out on loan to Galatasaray instead.

A contract extension that never arrived

Kvaratskhelia is still on the same contract that he signed when he first joined Napoli as a relative unknown back in 2022. That was a five-year deal that is set to expire in the summer of 2027.

For well over a year now, Napoli have been in talks with Kvaratskhelia and his representatives over a renewal, but that extension never came.

It is understood that Kvaratskhelia earns around €1.5m per season in Naples, while PSG have offered a deal worth more than five times that amount.

Following the news that Kvaratskhelia has decided to leave, Napoli have decided to avoid another ‘Osimhen situation’ by allowing a move away from the club this time around.

Reports on Saturday claim that PSG and Napoli are discussing a fee in the region of €80m for Kvaratskhelia with two-and-a-half years remaining on his current contract, but much like what happened with Osimhen, the Partenopei might have missed out on a chance to sell him for more in the past.