New Napoli signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia underlined his excitement at the move to Campania and reiterated his desire ‘to contribute’.
The Partenopei signed the 21-year-old Georgian from Dinamo Batumi in a deal worth around €10m last month, and fans are excited to see the winger in action, keen to see if he lives up to the hype. Kvaratskhelia has scored eight goals in 17 caps for Georgia and looks to be a great fit to Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli squad.
Speaking to Napoli’s media outlets, Kvaratskhelia first discussed his early life in Georgia and his beginnings with football.
“I come from Georgia, a beautiful country. When I was little I played football all the time, because I love it. I started playing football when I was 8 years old, and when I was a few years later I only thought about football, it immediately became the most important thing in my life.
“My father was a very good football player in Azerbaijan, but I didn’t start because he was a player, I was the one who wanted to do it, wanted to train. I didn’t need anyone to tell me to do it.”
The 21-year-old talent commented on his initial impressions of Naples as a city and Napoli as a team.
“When I was in Georgia I was always told that Naples is a beautiful city. This is my first time in Italy and I was impressed because Naples is an incredible, beautiful city and people love football here.
“When I was in the taxi I could see people around with Napoli flags, in Naples football is a real passion. I’m here because I want to grow and win titles. I want to contribute, help the team and maybe win titles.”
He reflected on how the negotiations went with Napoli and his eventual move this summer.
“I was with the national team to play friendlies, my agent called me and said there was this possibility of moving to Italy, to Napoli.
“My agent had been talking to Napoli for two years. Napoli are one of the most important teams in the world and I am happy to be here.”
Finally, Kvaratskhelia discussed what he knows about Napoli.
“I know there is great pizza in Naples, although I haven’t tasted it yet. I know that Maradona played here and it is great.
“It’s an honour for me to be here, Napoli is a world class club, the fans are incredible, and I want to contribute.”
Kvaratskhelia has already started to impress Spalletti following his arrival and in yesterday’s 3-1 friendly win over Girona, he won and then converted a penalty kick to cap off the match.