Barcelona face fresh blow in pursuit of €80 million-rated speedster

After almost single-handedly leading Napoli to a Serie A title last season, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia may not have been able to reach the same heights this time around.

However, he still remains a sought-after prospect in European football, with the forward notably being involved in 19 goals in all competitions this season.

Kvaratskhelia’s contract expires in 2027 but with Napoli languishing in a mid-table position, many expect the attacker to leave the club in the coming summer.

Barcelona are among the clubs keeping close tabs on Kvaratskhelia’s situation at Napoli, who in turn, are desperate to tie the player down to a new contract.

Crucial week for Barcelona

According to a recent report from Gazzetta Dello Sport, the coming week could be a crucial one for Barcelona, as far as their pursuit of Kvaratskhelia.

That is because his agent is set to hold talks with Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis over a new contract. The agent is likely to bring up Barcelona’s interest, in the hopes of attaining a lucrative contract from Napoli.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s stay at Napoli has not been ruled out. (Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Kvaratskhelia’s demands are simple. He is willing to stay at Napoli, but he requires the salary of a top player and is not willing to settle for anything less, especially in light of the club’s struggles this season.

Kvaratskhelia knows he has an offer from Barcelona and would like to leverage that prospect in order to force de Laurentiis to propose an acceptable offer.

What are Barcelona’s prospects?

The report does point out that Napoli are not in a position to meet Kvaratskhelia’s €5 million salary demands. However, President de Laurentiis remains keen on keeping hold of the player, especially with Victor Osimhen set to leave the club.

Napoli, therefore, will carry forward talks with Kvaratskhelia. In fact, one of de Laurentiis’ primary objectives is to add a hefty release clause to the attacker’s contract – one that might be in the range of €100-120 million.

Simply put, Napoli have no intention to sell Kvaratskhelia and unless Barcelona come up with an astounding offer, de Laurentiis won’t even entertain the prospect of offloading the Georgian star this summer.

*Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication