If you took a gander at Napoli‘s list of departures before the season commenced, you’d likely draw the conclusion that turbulent times were lying ahead for Gli Azzurri.
The side lost some crucial players in Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz, Arkadiusz Milik, David Ospina, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens, all within the span of a single year as well.
Yet, Luciano Spalleti’s team seem unfazed by the departures, which is a result of some very smart recruitment.
Aided by the new arrivals, Napoli are easily one of the most exciting teams in Europe at the moment, and currently, maintains an unbeaten record across all competitions.
Some of their noteworthy additions include Frank Anguissa, Min-Jae Kim, and Tanguy Ndombele, and the skilful Georgian fans can’t stop gushing over Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The 21-year-old was a relatively unknown entity before his move to Naples, although he did invoke the intrigue of scouts during his spell at Rubin Kazan.
This summer, Napoli came knocking and ‘Kvara’ simply couldn’t turn down the famed Blue of the Partenopei.
His start in Italy has been nothing short of stellar, be it Serie A or the Champions League, his close control, tenacity and dribbling have caught the eye of almost every fan.
The Georgian’s start is best summed up by the Napoli faithful’s nickname for him – ‘Kvaradona’, a reference to Naples legend Diego Maradona. And there’s really no higher compliment than that.
Napolitano would certainly love to see Kvara remain at the Diego Armando for several years, although some of Europe’s biggest sharks have already started to eye up the talented forward.
And as per rumours, among his biggest admirers are Chelsea.
Aside from his sparkling potential, the club may just have further incentive to launch a bid for the Georgian, especially if this image is anything to go by.
In it, a young Kvara can be seen sporting a Chelsea jersey from the 2006/07 season, in which the Blues did the Cup double under Jose Mourinho.
Naturally, Blues on Twitter began to get a bit excited at the prospect of him being a Chelsea fan, and eventually, they began clamouring for his arrival in the future.
Stamford Bridge hasn’t seen a player like Kvara probably since Eden Hazard, a creative force with a bag of tricks is capable of beating players at will.
It’s a rare profile in modern football, and so far, the Georgian fits the bill.
If he continues to flourish, many clubs will undoubtedly bid for his signature, and if this image carries any weight, Chelsea may just have an edge over the others.