Antonio Conte has confirmed that Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has asked to leave the club, which could have a knock-on effect on Arsenal’s January business.
On Saturday, Napoli boss Antonio Conte confirmed the news that their fans were fearing in relation to star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
“Kvaratskhelia has asked to leave the club,” Conte said. “I spoke to Khvicha and he confirmed his plan to leave the club immediately.
“There was a contract that was supposed to be renewed. Obviously I didn’t do enough to convince both parties to carry on together. I’ll take a step back because I can’t keep chained up a player who doesn’t want to stay.”
Arsenal fans might understandably get excited about the prospect of a transfer move for Kvaratskhelia this month, with the club low on wingers in the wake of injuries to Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri.
Yet there have been no suggestions that Arsenal are in the race for Kvaratskhelia, with Paris Saint-Germain seemingly the favourites and Chelsea and Liverpool also linked.
Instead, Arsenal might benefit more indirectly, given reports of their own interest in PSG winger Lee Kang-in.
PSG had previously taken the stance that they had no plans to let Lee leave in January. But if they manage to sign Kvaratskhelia, perhaps they’ll be more open to letting the forward leave.
The French club already have Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue, who are capable of playing on the right, as is Kvaratskhelia. They also have Ousmane Dembele, Marco Asensio, and Ibrahim Mbaye as more natural options in the position.
With so many alternatives on the books, PSG might consider letting Lee go if Arsenal make an offer.
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