Darwin Nunez might have been the name on everybody’s lips come the final whistle as Liverpool beat Napoli 2-0 at Anfield on Tuesday night, but it was a different story for the majority of the game as the Champions League group-stages came to an end.
With both sides already through to the knockout stages, it was hardly a ‘famous Anfield European night’ as tame blows were exchange, before Nunez’ s emergence from the bench turned the tide in the Reds’ favour. Helping create Mohamed Salah ’s opener after his header was parried before tapping home a goal of his own in stoppage-time, supporters were left chanting his name after his latest decisive impact.
But before the match exploded into life, many Liverpool fans had instead been impressed by a forward in Napoli’s ranks - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
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The 21-year-old only joined the Serie A outfit from Dinamo Batumi for a reported fee of €10-€12m, having cancelled his contract with Rubin Kazan back in March following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Returning eight goals from just 11 games back in his native Georgia, it was an impressive return for the winger and the most prolific stint of his tender career so far. But that is what has made it even more eye-catching that he has already matched such totals in his opening months in Naples and first forage into both a major European league and the Champions League.
Napoli are arguably Europe’s most in-form side so far this season, with Tuesday’s defeat to Liverpool their first loss of the campaign. Winning 10 of their 12 Serie A matches so far to top the table by five points, they had also won their five previous Champions League group games, including that 4-1 thrashing of the Reds in September, and headed to Anfield off the back of a 13-game winning run.
Kvaratskhelia has been crucial to that, returning eight goals and 10 assists, one of which came against Liverpool in Naples, from his first 16 outings for Napoli. Only Marko Arnautovic and Victor Osimhen have scored more than the winger’s six goals in Serie A this season, while his seven assists are the joint-highest in the league along with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Meanwhile, only Rafael Leao can better his total of three Champions League assists, with his return the same number as the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Serge Gnabry.
Such form has seen him linked with a move to a number of top clubs already, including Liverpool. And while he couldn’t add to such totals against the Reds on Tuesday, he certainly set tongues wagging with an impressive individual display during his 83 minutes on the Anfield pitch.
Kvaratskhelia's total of five shots, three successful dribbles and seven dribbles attempted were more than any other player on the pitch. Meanwhile, his total of two attempted crosses was the third-most behind Kostas Tsimikas and Piotr Zielinski.
Nutmegging Trent Alexander-Arnold inside the opening 65 seconds, he was a handful for the England right-back throughout as he looked to make the most of his pace and trickery. As a result of the battle, he certainly caught Jurgen Klopp’s eye in the process.
“He (Kvaratskhelia) is a good player, both are good players,” the German told reporters after the final whistle. “It was a really difficult one. I know people will talk about one or two situations with Trent when he tried to get in front of him and the ball goes through.
“He is really good, the boy. Really quick, we have to defend it well together in these moments. When he has the advantage of the first moment, then he is already gone.
“You have to try to be there in the moment when the ball arrives. If you cannot to do that, you need to be protected because he has speed. He is cheeky, he can go inside, he goes outside, that always makes him difficult. A good player.”
Liverpool fans were impressed by the Georgian’s performance and, unsurprisingly, took to social media to urge their club to sign the winger after his impressive display at Anfield. Given the Reds do have form for signing players who have also happened to catch the eye against them, it would not be beyond the realms of possibility for them to make such a move.
After all, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Takumi Minamino, and Alisson Becker have all been snapped up mere months after Jurgen Klopp had enjoyed a first-hand look at their talents in the Champions League, with the trio already on Liverpool’s radar at the time. Elsewhere, the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota are just some of the players to have enhanced their reputations within the club’s recruitment team after impressing against the Reds in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, as Kvaratskhelia lit up his left flank at Anfield, it’s been a different story for Liverpool in recent weeks after losing both Diaz and Jota to injury. With such absences and a loss of form prompting a succession of formation changes, which also briefly resulted in the eradication of such a role, Nunez, Curtis Jones, and Fabio Carvalho have all been utilised on the left with varying success in an attempt to fill the void.
Given such makeshift replacements, it’s understandable why a current need for the Napoli winger could feel rather burning. After all, Klopp even suggested last week that Diaz and Jota won’t be riding to the Reds' rescue anytime soon.
“No, you don't have to ask about Diogo [Jota] for a while,” he told reporters ahead of facing Leeds. “Not for Luis [Diaz] for a while either.”
While there is hope the Colombian could return to action after his knee injury in the New Year, Liverpool have been rather more guarded about the Portuguese’s return, refusing to put a timescale on it beyond him being a long-term absentee and ruled out for months after a calf injury suffered against Man City ruled him out of the World Cup.
As a result, do the Reds really need another left-winger in the long-term? Probably not truth be told. Before injury, Diaz had been one of Liverpool’s players of the season and has been in sensational form ever since joining the club from FC Porto back in January.
Still only 25, the left-wing berth is his for the foreseeable future with Jota his deputy when needed. Signed as a long-term solution for the position, the club's recruitment team made their choice and with great success.
While Kvaratskhelia continues to shine, you’d be hard put to find many who would favour him being first-choice ahead of Diaz. Yet that doesn’t quash any suggestion for a future move entirely.
Not turning 22 until February, the Georgia international is only going to get better and could easily prove to be one of Europe’s deadliest wingers for the rest of the decade at least. Meanwhile, Jota is arguably better-suited to a central role, will almost certainly be used there even more prominently when the time comes for an ageing Roberto Firmino, out of contract next summer, to depart, and doesn’t quite offer the same pacey attributes as a Diaz or Kvaratskhelia.
And as shown by Liverpool’s recent depth, they are capable of having more than one quality attacking option for a single position. This is demonstrated by the second half of last season where Diaz was signed to compliment Sadio Mane and Jota, though Reds bosses would have already known at the time that the Senegalese wanted to depart come the summer. Meanwhile, this year Klopp can pick between Nunez, Jota, Firmino and even Salah for a central attacking role.
Yet despite spending the vast majority of his senior career to date as a left-winger, Kvaratskhelia is credited as being just as dangerous with either foot. Transfermarkt suggests he has only played a handful of matches in different roles, though he is also capable of playing upfront, behind a striker or on the right, it makes him even more of an attractive proposition.
While Liverpool are well-covered on the left, on the right their options behind Salah are rather more unproven. Harvey Elliott is the most senior reserve, while Kaide Gordon and Ben Doak are two of the most highly-rated teenagers progressing through the club’s youth ranks.
As a result, perhaps the prospect of signing the Napoli star could be even more tempting - especially when you consider the Reds’ Egyptian King is now the wrong side of 30. At the same time, would club bosses want to block the pathway of Gordon and Doak, and with a 21-year-old no less? At very least, a long-term replacement is required, if not a current deputy, one way or the other.
Klopp isn’t against utilising his wingers on opposing flanks and doesn't exclusively play them inverted, cutting in on their stronger foot, as shown by Mane starring on the right in his first season at Anfield in 2016/17. That season he was Liverpool’s joint-leading goalscorer in the Premier League as they finished in the top four under the German for the first time, before he was unleashed on the left after Salah’s arrival. Meanwhile, the likes of Diaz, Jota and Minamino have also been used on both flanks at times.
Recent reports suggest Napoli are keen to offer Kvaratskhelia an improved contract, with his existing deal already lasting until 2027. While it is yet to be seen whether they would even consider already cashing in on the winger, historically, they have not been an easy side to negotiate with.
Regardless, when the time comes for the Georgia international to leave the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Napoli will certainly bank considerably more than the €10m-€12m they originally parted with to land him in the first place.
In the meantime, having been suitably impressed by both Kvaratskhelia’s displays in recent months and specifically against Liverpool, Reds bosses will no doubt continue to watch his progress with great interest. While you can think of multiple reasons for why such a transfer won't happen or isn't wise, if he did ever become available, you still can't say no to signing such a quality player, with a plethora of clubs no doubt kicking themselves for not rivalling Napoli for his signature in the summer.
He's now had his first taste of Anfield. Perhaps it won't be the last. There is a chance, the only problem is, if Liverpool do ever wish to sign move for Kvaratskhelia, given his electric start to life with Napoli, they certainly won’t be the only side eagerly waiting in the wings.
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