Micah Richards today raved over a player who has reportedly been on Manchester City’s transfer radar in recent times.
The former Manchester City full-back was on punditry duty today for the game between Georgia and Turkey.
The tournament has been great watch so far, with there being goals in every game up to now.
It has been a bit of a mixed bag for City players regarding results. There have been wins for Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and John Stones for England, and also for Rodri, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji for Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland respectively.
But Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku all started with defeats.
Georgia were in action today against Turkey – and there was, predictably, a fair bit of praise for star man Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is a player Micah Richards really rates.
Micah Richards lauds ‘outstanding’ Khvicha Kvaratskhelia after Man City transfer link
Georgia are not expected to do too much at Euro 2024.
They are one of the lowest-ranked nations in the tournament, and are in a group with Turkey, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
Key to them getting out of the group will be if Kvaratskhelia can step up for his country, as he so often does for Napoli.
Ahead of the game, Micah Richards hailed the 23-year-old on BBC One. He said: “We get to see players like Kvaratskhelia today. What’s done at Napoli over the last couple of seasons… he’s a top, top player.
“He’s outstanding. I think last season, he wasn’t as great as the season before when Napoli won Serie A – he was instrumental in everything they did.
“He moves, he comes close, he’s so intelligent as well with his timing of his runs. That’s what I like about him. He can actually run inside and out as well.”
It was reported back in November that City had been scouting Kvaratskhelia.
Earlier this week, the winger was at the heart of a dramatic situation, with his agent and father both publicly stating that they want out of Napoli this summer, with the club responding via an official statement saying that he isn’t for sale.
Kvaratskhelia would be fun at City
At this stage, there is absolutely no indication that City will make a move for Kvaratskhelia this summer.
Despite what his agent and father have said Napoli’s stance is clear, and it would be difficult to prise him away from the club. That said, he could well make it difficult for them.
It would certainly be fun to see him playing for City.
Kvaratskhelia is someone who is extremely technical and seemingly the kind of winger Pep Guardiola would appreciate. Perhaps if Bernardo Silva did indeed leave the club this summer, he would be someone the club will consider.
But it’s tricky, because Kvaratskhelia almost exclusively plays out wide, with Bernardo obviously able to operate centrally.