Liverpool are yet to make contact with Napoli over Khvicha Kvaratskhelia after reports emerged on Thursday of a potential move for the Georgia winger in this month's transfer window. A report in The Athletic on Thursday evening claimed the Reds could move for Kvaratskhelia should Napoli decide to move him on this month, with Chelsea and, more prominently, Paris Saint-Germain also credited with an interest in the former Rubin Kazan star.

The Reds are understood to be long-standing admirers of the 23-year-old, having watched him grow into one of the most exciting attackers in European football during his time with Serie A side.

Kvaratskhelia was the standout performer for the Italians when Jurgen Klopp's side were dismantled 4-1 at the Diego Maradona Stadium back in September 2022 and the wideman's performances that campaign inspired the team to a first Scudetto title for 33 years.

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Despite the appreciation of his quality, however, it's been suggested that any transfer this move is unlikely, with Arne Slot already able to choose between six frontmen for his three-man attack at Anfield in Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and Cody Gakpo.

Gakpo and Diaz have both enjoyed excellent campaigns in competition for a spot on the left side of the front three, where Kvaratskhelia is most effective, and with Nunez and Jota also capable of operating in the role, any move would likely only be sanctioned if any of the frontline ranks departed.

Speaking about the speculation in his Friday press conference, Slot said: "When you said yourself 'linked with', I was thinking: 'Which club is he going to say now?' But you mean as a club we are linked with Kvaratskhelia.

"What I make of that is that this is January and I think I said it after the West Ham United game [to journalists], please don't disappoint me, please come up with all these players and all these clubs that are in the interest of us.

"Or the ones that don't play a lot for us are going to go somewhere else. That [speculation] is what is happening now. And nine out of 10 times or 99 out of 100 times, at the end of the window it's been clear that almost all of these stories weren't true. So what can I comment about it? The rumours keep going for it but no comment from my side."

Speaking to Georgian outlet Imedi in June, Kvaratskhelia's agent, Mamuka Jugeli, said: "I don’t want people to think that Kvara wants to stay at Napoli. We want to leave, but we are waiting for the end of the Euros so as not to disturb Khvicha. The priority is to join a team that plays in the Champions League."

Chiesa has been linked with a move back to Napoli and it has been speculatively suggested the Italy international could form a makeweight as part of any deal, However, the Reds forward - who is in line for a potential start when Accrington Stanley visit for the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday lunchtime - will be staying put this season, according to his agent.

Speaking earlier this month, Chiesa's representative Fali Ramadani said: "Napoli did not negotiate a contract with Chiesa from Liverpool in the winter period, and the club has no intention of dispensing with the player. The player is continuing with Liverpool and is seeking the opportunity to participate in the coming period. This is what I can confirm now.”

Kvaratskhelia's Napoli contract runs through to the summer of 2027 and while it is thought that no advances for his services are imminent, the Georgia international has plenty of admirers inside the corridors of power at the AXA Training Centre.

Sporting director Richard Hughes has specialist knowledge of the Serie A market and it was his contacts in Italy that helped pave the way to bring in Chiesa for a cut-price sum of £12m in August due to his contract impasse at Juventus.

Any potential hand will also be strengthened by the imminent arrival of Kvaratskhelia's international team-mate Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will join from Valencia in the summer in a £29m deal that was agreed last year.