Liverpool have had their worst start to a Premier League season in a decade after a run of poor performances which has left them sixth in the table, something that Jurgen Klopp will want to improve over the second half of the season.
The Reds have picked up just 22 points out of a possible 42 over their first 14 top-flight outings and are currently 15 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.
As a result, the Liverpool manager could look to the January transfer window to strengthen his squad and bolster the quality of options that he has available to him not only to improve the performances in the Premier League but help the Reds to compete in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup this season.
One player who has been linked with a move to Anfield is Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a talented forward who could boost Liverpool’s attacking threat in 2023.
Indeed, supporters of the Merseyside giants will be all too familiar with the Georgian after he dominated for Napoli in their monumental 4-1 victory over Liverpool in a Champions League clash in September.
In his 57-minute performance that night, the €100m-valued (£87.2m) ace registered one assist, completed three key passes, won four duels, completed four dribble attempts and created one big chance.
The outstanding displays from the Napoli attacker led to high praise from Klopp himself, with the Liverpool manager hailing Kvaratskhelia as “cheeky” following the return fixture at Anfield in which the Reds sealed victory.
The German said of the 21-year-old: “He is really good, the boy, and really quick and you have to defend him together in these moments. When he has the advantage of the first movement, then he is already gone.”
“You have to try to be there in the moment when the ball arrives, but if you cannot do that then you need to be protected because he has speed, he is cheeky, he goes inside, he can go outside, that makes it always really difficult.”
Kvaratskhelia ranks in the top 6% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues in 2022 for non-penalty goals, shots, assists, and shot-creating actions and touches.
In fact, Klopp could land his own Bukayo Saka for Liverpool, with the England and Arsenal star named as one of the most comparable players to the 21-year-old Napoli winger over the last 12 months according to FBRef.
The two wide forwards have shared many similarities in their output over the season so far, including goal contributions (11 v 10, Kvaratskhelia first), pass completion rate (77.3% v 78.3%), shot-creating actions (58 v 57) and goal-creating actions per 90 minutes (1.14 v 1.00).
With that in mind, signing the Georgian would be a major coup for Liverpool – especially if they could secure his services in January – as he could be just what Klopp needs in order to revive his team’s campaign.