Frosinone's Kvernadze, the 'new Kvara' Napoli scouted in 2022

Napoli were watching Giorgi Kvernadze back in 2022, when he was nineteen and Transfermarkt had him valued at €300,000. He is now one of Serie A's form players: five goals and two assists in six appearances this season for Frosinone, in the league and the Coppa Italia (Italy's cup competition), the side he will face Napoli with on 10 October.

Kvernadze's path has been slower. Frosinone signed him in the summer of 2023 for €900,000; Transfermarkt now values him at €4m. He made his Serie A debut in the 2023/24 season, playing eight matches, then built himself up patiently across two Serie B seasons with the club: 72 appearances and nine goals — the record of a player developing step by step, not a prodigy burned out early.

His Georgia call-up came later still: just six caps, with his debut against Spain in October 2025, after working through every age group from Under-17 to Under-21.

The Frosinone side Napoli will meet at the Maradona on 10 October, the sixth round after the international break, sit on 10 points in the league — a better start than Napoli's, who are ninth on 7 points after five rounds. One early-season table does not settle a hierarchy, but the context says something: Napoli arrive well short of their stated targets, and Frosinone are leaning on the very talent Napoli once passed over.

The dates remain a coincidence worth noting. As the winger nicknamed the "new Kvara" prepares to face the Maradona, the real Kvaratskhelia has just ended his Napoli career. At 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET) on 10 October, we'll find out how much that storyline matters on the pitch.