Player Spotlight: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia vs Hellas Verona

 

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Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring vs Hellas Verona

Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened his Napoli account against Hellas Verona on Monday. Following his move from Dinamo Batumi in July, Kvaratskhelia registered a goal and an assist as Napoli came from behind to win 5-2. The 21-year-old scored a tidy header at the back post and set up an excellant through ball for Piotr Zielinski to score. His talent was showcased in a statement season-opener from a Napoli side that will still be stinging from their failure to win the Scudetto last season. 

Napoli's fans will be hoping that Kvaratskhelia can fill the Lorenzo-Insigne-shaped hole in their hearts following his move to Toronto FC in Canada. Luckily for them Kvaratskhelia is the kind of player that's easy to love, his flair makes him exciting to watch and it's helped him leave his mark in Russia with Rubin Kazan and in Georgia during his 5 months with Dinamo Batumi following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His style of play reminds me of former Georgia international Georgi Kinkladze, who notably played for Manchester City, Ajax and Derby County. If you haven't seen highlight reels of either of them go look for them on YouTube; it makes for an entertaining watch. It will be interesting to see if Kvaratskhelia will win over the Napoli faithful but if performances like this continue then he'll do well.