Man Utd swap deal for £86m Arsenal target touted but pundit has ‘real concern’ about shock transfer | OneFootball

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Federico Chiesa.

Manchester United have been warned against signing Georgia international Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Serie A champions Napoli.

Kvaratskhelia enjoyed a stellar debut season for Napoli in 2022/23 as he grabbed 14 goals and 17 assists across all competitions.

Napoli managed to keep hold of him and Victor Osimhen during the summer and they are now making an attempt to retain the Serie A title.

The winger has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League. Man Utd are reportedly interested in signing the Arsenal target and it’s also been claimed that the London outfit are planning to bid £86m to secure his services.

Man Utd could perhaps view Kvaratskhelia as a potential replacement for Jadon Sancho, who is reportedly open to leaving the Premier League giants this summer.

Former Premier League attacker Stan Collymore “would be amazed” if Sancho has a long-term future at Man Utd.

“There have been some rumours recently that Manchester United have added Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to their January transfer shortlist amid the uncertainty surrounding Jadon Sancho and Antony,” Collymore told Caught Offside.

“On Sancho – I have always defended the lad. My take on his time at Old Trafford has been that the club and fans should stick with him because he’s a real talent and has the ability to be the difference-maker. I have to turn my back on that now though.

“He came out, not for the first time in his career, and said he’s a scapegoat and went against his manager, and that never goes down well. As I said last week, I would be amazed if Sancho still has a future at Manchester United.”

Collymore has also suggested that he “wouldn’t rule out a mutual loan between Sancho and Kvaratskhelia”.

The pundit has warned United against signing Kvaratskhelia, though. This is because he has apparently “massively gone off the boil”.

“So to hear that United are looking for wingers isn’t surprising. I know there have been hints Sancho could return to Borussia Dortmund but I actually wouldn’t rule out a mutual loan move between Sancho and Kvaratskhelia,” Collymore added.

“My only real concern would be that Kvaratskhelia has massively gone off the boil. He had a great first half to the season last season but he hasn’t scored a goal in Serie A since March and that’s a real big worry.

“Why are Manchester United looking to replace an underperforming player with another underperforming player?”

This is a tad harsh from Collymore but Kvaratskhelia did not score in any of Napoli’s last 11 Serie A games last season. So far this term he has one goal involvement in two outings.