Jurgen Klopp has praised Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for his display against Liverpool last night.
The Georgian winger has been the talk of all of Europe this season, bursting onto the scene for Napoli. And speaking via liverpoolfc.com after watching him up against Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold on Tuesday, Klopp admitted he’s a big fan.
“He’s [Kvaratskhelia] a good player. Both [Kvaratskhelia and Trent] are good players, so it’s a really difficult one. I know people will talk about one or two situations when Trent tried to be in front of him and the ball goes through. But he is really good, the boy, and really quick and you have to defend him together in these moments,” said the Reds boss.
“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.
“A good player and I thought Trent played a really good game against him, he was really on fire, he was really in, didn’t get frustrated by one or two situations where he was second-best, stayed in the game and I liked Trent’s game tonight.”
Klopp keeping an eye on Khvicha
Kvaratskhelia has been turning heads at Napoli this season. The young winger is one of those players who can get fans off their seats. His pace is truly frightening.
After giving Liverpool all sorts of trouble on Matchday 1 in Naples, he started in much the same manner last night. But to Alexander-Arnold’s credit, he ensured that the Georgia international’s influence lessened as the game went on.
No doubt aware of Kvaratskhelia’s burgeoning reputation in the game, perhaps Trent wanted to put down a marker for his detractors.
Although he didn’t keep the flying winger entirely silent, Liverpool’s right-back did a good enough job.
If the rumours are to be believed, Trent could be seeing a whole lot more of Kvaratskhelia. That’s because the Napoli man is reportedly a transfer target for the Reds.
However, Napoli have been insistent that their new gem is going absolutely nowhere. Watching him last night though, and it’s quite clear that he could play for any team in Europe.
As we know, good performances in-front of Jurgen Klopp can add weight to a potential Liverpool transfer. The Reds boss has been known to factor in displays against his side when signing off on new additions.
In that respect, it’s clear that Kvaratskhelia is very much on his radar. He may not have been quite at his devastating best, but he still showed what he could potentially bring to this limp-looking Liverpool team. One to keep an eye on in the future for sure.
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