The Azzurri are at the top of the table but will have to deal with a notable loss
Napoli are facing a big setback in the current January transfer window as their club idol and 2022-23 MVP of the season Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is set to leave the Azzurri and will join PSG after talks over a new deal collapsed recently. “Kvaradona,” as Napoli fans call him in homage of club legend Diego Armando Maradona, decided to leave the side coached by Italian manager Antonio Conte despite a good start to the current campaign as the team is currently at the top of the Serie A table. That begs the question — will the former Chelsea head coach be able to keep Napoli in the title race after losing their most talented player?
Conte was able to convince his players about his football ideas in a short time, as Napoli managed to be at the top of the table since the start of the 2024-25 season. The Azzurri are not participating in any European tournament this season, and they can fully focus on the league, and that was probably the best scenario for Conte to work with his new players since he was appointed in the summer of 2024 after a disappointing season where Napoli ended up ninth in the Serie A table.
After winning the 2022-23 Serie A title under manager Luciano Spalletti and then experiencing a disastrous season, Conte was able to restore the same environment inside and outside the pitch, driven by the enthusiasm of the fans who committed to the project since the pre-season.
The Italian manager was also honest when asked about Kvaratskhelia leaving Napoli, as it was the same player who asked to be sold. Conte, during a press conference, said he was “disappointed” by himself because he was “not able to work on both parties to continue together.” However, despite losing who is probably their best and most talented player on the roster, there are many reasons to think that Napoli can win the title without him.
While we wait to see who will be Kvara’s replacement, it’s obvious that Napoli are losing a lot. In terms of pure numbers, during the 2024-25 season, Kvaratskhelia is the second-best player for goals scored after Romelu Lukaku (five) and the first one alongside Matteo Politano for chances created (27 in 17 Serie A games). He’s also the leading player on the roster for shots on target (17; one per game). As Conte already said, it will be a difficult task to replace him, despite Napoli already signing former Benfica man David Neres, who will likely take his place in the meantime as the Azzurri are looking for a more consistent replacement.
Numbers apart, Napoli are losing an icon of this team that helped the Azzurri win their first Serie A title since the Maradona era. At the same time, Conte was able to recreate the same spirit without two of the key players of that team, including defender Kim Min-Jae, who was sold to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, and Victor Osimhen, who left Napoli last summer and joined Galatasaray after he was left out of the project before Napoli signed Lukaku from Chelsea.
Looking at it at this point of the season, Napoli made a big mistake in the summer when PSG offered more than €200 million to sign both Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen. The team owned by Italian businessman Aurelio De Laurentiis decided to sell only one of the two. Osimhen, who already made clear his intention to leave Napoli, was left out of the team before the preseason training camp, but it took Napoli more than three months to find him a new club, as he only joined Galatasaray on loan after the summer transfer window was over in Europe. Few months later, Kvaratskhelia asked the club to be sold.
Despite all this, Napoli can still be in the race to win the title this season, despite Conte’s words. The Azzurri can count again on a team that is delivering good results and some solid defensive performances (12 goals conceded in 20 games so far), thanks to the manager and the players signed in the summer. Inter, Napoli’s main competitors, are close to the Azzurri in the table but are still in the race in all the competitions they play, especially in the Champions League. If Napoli are able to stay on the top until spring, everything will be possible at the club, which will forever remember Kvaratskhelia’s incredible impact.
