
Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
Jamie Carragher names ‘best player in Serie A’ as Tottenham, Leeds look to complete Napoli raid

Jamie Carragher has sung the praises of Napoli ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia after he put in another top Champions League performance – with both Tottenham and Leeds aiming to sign him.
Napoli spent £9million to sign the winger from Georgian club Dinamo Batumi in July. And he has been hugely impressive during his first few months in Italy.
Kvaratskhelia registered a goal and an assist during Napoli’s Serie A opener, as they beat Hellas Verona 5-2. He then bagged a brace during a 4-0 rout against Monza.
Kvaratskhelia has taken his form into the Champions League, too. He got an assist as Napoli pulled off a shock to beat Liverpool 4-1 last week.
The attacker caused Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez all sorts of problems. This resulted in pundit Jonathan Woodgate tipping him for a Premier League move.
“I’m disappointed Kvaratskhelia’s gone off, because I was enjoying his performance,” Woodgate said.
“His pace, his power, he wants to beat his man. He’s another one who you can see going to the Premier League in the next few years. He’s been absolutely magnificent, Kvaratskhelia.”
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry added that he has been ‘magnificent’, while his skills and touches are ‘contagious’.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia shines against Rangers
Kvaratskhelia looked just as confident when coming up against Scottish giants Rangers on Wednesday night.
He didn’t get among the goals, like he did against Liverpool, but Kvaratskhelia pulled off a brilliant piece of skill.
The Georgia international received the ball out wide on the left. He flicked it behind himself before spinning and leaving his opponent trailing.
Kvaratskhelia then got past a second Rangers player before being brought down by James Tavernier as he headed towards the box.
The move didn’t result in a goal, or even a shooting opportunity, but it showed just how hard Kvaratskhelia is to stop and how easily he can drag Napoli up the pitch.
Carragher heaps praise on Georgian star
Former Liverpool defender Carragher followed Woodgate and Henry’s lead by heaping praise on Kvaratskhelia. Carragher labelled him a ‘hot talent’ and even suggested he is ‘the best player in Serie A’.
“He was fantastic,” Carragher said on CBS Sports (14/09 at 19:40), via HITC. “We gave him a big build-up before the Liverpool game, to do what he did in a game of that magnitude.
“He has maybe been the best player in Serie A, certainly this season and he has proved it again. He looks like a hot talent and it will be interesting to see how long he will stay at Napoli.”
Carragher’s verdict will be music to the ears of Premier League clubs Tottenham and Leeds. They have been keeping tabs on the wide man’s development for several months.
Tottenham and Leeds’ interest originally came about while he was still in Georgia. They didn’t move for him then though and he went on to sign for Napoli.
It will now cost a big fee to bring Kvaratskhelia to England. transfermarkt value him at £13.5m, but Napoli will want far more than that to sell.
It will also be tough for Spurs or Leeds to convince the star to complete a transfer. Napoli fans love Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and have already drawn comparisons between him and club icon Diego Maradona.