Fabrizio Romano offers fresh update on 'crazy' £70m Liverpool transfer claim


Liverpool have been linked with a ‘sensational’ late-summer move for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but Fabrizio Romano has poured cold water on recent reports.
Football Insider claimed earlier this week that Anfield recruitment chiefs were ‘plotting’ a move for Kvaratskhelia, who has been a long-term target for Liverpool and many other top clubs across Europe. The Reds were said to remain in the market for wide reinforcements with the hope of landing a marquee signing before Friday’s transfer deadline.
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Hide AdA move for Kvaratskhelia looks highly unlikely, however, with Napoli unwilling to sell and demanding a minimum of £70million for the Georgian international. And now Romano has given his verdict on what would have been a sensational swoop, had it gone ahead.
“Today, we had reports in England of Liverpool preparing a crazy proposal for Kvaratskhelia and trying a sensational move,” Romano said on his YouTube channel. “I have zero confirmation on Kvaratskhelia and Liverpool. Napoli have always been clear – they trust him and want to continue with him under Antonio Conte. There is nothing ongoing with Liverpool and Kvaratskhelia.”
Kvaratskhelia has enjoyed two incredible campaigns at Napoli since making the move to Italy, helping his side to a first Serie A title in 33 years with 14 goals and 17 assists in 43 appearances. The Azzurri’s title defence did not go as planned as they ended last season in 10th, but their star winger still impressed with 11 goals and nine assists.
Napoli are under new management after appointing Antonio Conte in June, and the Italian side are widely expected to lose striker Victor Osimhen amid ongoing links with Chelsea. The prospect of losing two star players looks highly unlikely and so Kvaratskhelia will likely stay.
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Hide AdLiverpool are already well-stocked in attacking areas, with Arne Slot having to bench top-quality talent every week. Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota started during last week’s 2-0 win at Ipswich Town, with Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez on the bench. Harvey Elliott can also play out wide if needed.
The Reds are yet to confirm any new signings this summer and despite closing in on a £30m move for Giorgi Mamardashvili - a teammate of Kvaratskhelia with Georgia - no squad additions are close with the goalkeeper heading straight back to Valencia on loan. There has been unrest among supporters at the lack of business but Slot has regularly insisted new signings don’t necessarily improve the squad.
"If you don't strengthen, you become weaker? I don't understand that,” the Liverpool boss said earlier this summer. “It's not always true that if you bring in new players a team becomes stronger. Jurgen left the team in a good place.
"I said many times our squad is really strong and it's not easy to find players who can strengthen us. We're not changing everything. Actually, we [didn't] change that much because many things were already good.”