A former Everton scout has detailed how the club once explored the possibility of signing Napoli stars Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kin Min-Jae.
Carlo Jacomuzzi, who worked as a scout for the Toffees, has stated that Everton looked at the pair earlier in their respective careers, insisting that “problems” occurred during transfer negotiations for Min-Jae, while Kvaratskhelia was “evaluated”.
The ex-Everton scout said, “Napoli’s scouts were good at bringing Kim and Kvaratskhelia to Napoli at those prices. Kim, when I was at Everton four years ago, we wanted to get him, then some problems happened in the transfer and Kvaratshkelia was also evaluated. The big deal then, Napoli made it on the figures.”
The pair have each caught the eye of clubs throughout Europe, with Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia already one of the most exciting prospects in world football, with 8 goals and 10 assists already this season for Luciano Spalletti’s side. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kim Min-Jae has been invaluable to Napoli’s defensive efforts, with the Serie A giants topping both their Champions League group and domestic league, with 15 games unbeaten.
Both players have flourished in Naples and since their summer arrivals in Southern Italy, with 21-year-old Kvaratskhelia joining from Georgian side Dinamo Batumi for a fee of around £10 million, while Kim Min-Jae arrived from Fenerbahçe for a reported fee of £18 million, picking up the Serie A Player of the Month award in September.
It will be a frustratingly familiar story to Everton fans, who have seen the Toffees linked with countless names over recent years, only to see the player prosper elsewhere. A summer bid was rejected for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhaylo Mudryk, who could soon join Premier League leaders Arsenal if reports are to be believed, while the Blues once handed a 16-year-old Erling Haaland a 4-day trial at the club, before deciding against signing the Norwegian superstar.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.