Newcastle United have begun preparations for next season but have only made one new signing so far this summer, and now a new update has emerged on the club's pursuit of a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on Newcastle's interest in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia?
According to Saudi news outlet WinWinSport via Corriere Dello Sport, Newcastle have submitted a €95m (£82m) offer to sign Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
As per the report, after signing Sandro Tonali the Magpies are exploring targets in the Serie A and have presented a huge offer to sign Napoli's star player this summer.
How good is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia?
It is no secret that Eddie Howe is looking to strengthen the wider-forward positions of his impressive squad ahead of next season, and the Newcastle boss spoke out following the pre-season friendly with Gateshead to confirm that he is still in the market for new additions this summer:
"There have been difficult days, because obviously you want the end result, you want the best squad you can get. We were very pleased to get Sandro through but we know we need more."
As a result, the signing of Kvaratskhelia could be a huge opportunity for Howe to add more talent to the attacking threat ahead of their highly-anticipated Champions League return, and would be a much better alternative to strongly-linked Leicester City winger, Harvey Barnes – who has been valued at around £40m.
The 22-year-old talent has been a revelation for Napoli of late, ranking first for shot-creating actions, assists, progressive carries and goal-creating actions in the entire Serie A last season, as per FBref, having registered 31 goal involvements in all competitions in his debut season at the club – a far greater return than Barnes enjoyed (16 goals and assists across all fronts).
Not only that, Kvaratskhelia ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for shots on goal, assists, progressive carries, successful take-ons and touches, proving that he is one of the hottest attacking prospects in Europe.
The goal-hungry winger also boasts much-needed experience in European competition with 11 appearances, two goals and four assists tallied up, something that could be incredibly valuable to Howe next season.
When comparing the Georgia international's output with Barnes' last season, Kvaratskhelia comfortably outperformed his Leicester counterpart in a number of key attributes in the league, including goal contributions (22 v 14), pass completion (79.2% v 69.8%), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.86 v 2.09), goal-creating actions (0.86 v 0.46), successful take-ons (37.7% v 29.7%) and aerial duels won (38.1% v 33.7%).
The 6 foot ace has been the recipient of high praise over his career so far, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailing Kvaratskhelia's impact on the pitch:
“He’s a good player. But he is really good, the boy, and really quick and you have to defend him together in these moments. When he has the advantage of the first movement, then he is already gone."
"You have to try to be there in the moment when the ball arrives, but if you cannot do that then you need to be protected because he has speed, he is cheeky, he goes inside, he can go outside, that makes it always really difficult."
With that being said, if Newcastle could seal a deal for Kvaratskhelia he would be worth every penny and would, without a doubt, prove a far more impressive, albeit far more expensive coup than the signing of Barnes.
