Newcastle United were recently linked with a mega-money move for Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
In a bizarre link coming out of Saudi Arabia recently, it was claimed that Newcastle, or more accurately, PIF, had made an £82million approach for Napoli‘s Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The story never really made sense, but it didn’t stop it spreading like wildfire online.
Reports in Italy suggest Kvaratskhelia was unmoved by Newcastle’s interest
Now a report from Il Mattino (via AreaNapoli) in Italy has suggested that even had the rumour been true, Newcastle would have faced an uphill battle.
The Italian paper said that Kvaratskhelia ‘didn’t falter’ when he learned of Newcastle’s interest, remaining committed to the Serie A champions.
It was also suggested that he was becoming annoyed with the persistent links to Arsenal which have gone alongside the reports of Newcastle’s interest.
Newcastle had been keen on Kvaratskhelia for a while
The Magpies have been said to be interested in Kvaratskhelia for a while which is why the PIF-based story may have seemed possible, but when you’ve got reports going around saying Newcastle need to sell players to balance the books one minute and then they’ve bid £82million for a player the next, things get a bit confusing.
It would obviously have been fantastic to see Newcastle make a move for the player Jamie Carragher called ‘the most exciting player in Europe‘, but it looks like even if the PIF did cough up £82million, Kvaratskhelia would have had no interest in the deal anyway.
The 22-year-old looks set for another season with Napoli, hoping to repeat last season’s success. No doubt the Italian side will be hoping for a similar commitment from their other prized asset once linked to Newcastle, Victor Osimhen.
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