'More effective than Kvaratskhelia': Newcastle beat Real Madrid to wonderkid likened to £29m Prem icon

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After fighting off competition from the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City, what can Newcastle United expect from their latest rising star?

Well, while he tends to appear on the team sheet as a centre-forward, a scout who knows the teen sensation better than most feels that Vakhtang Salia embodies a more modern, cerebral interpretation of the number nine role.

Newcastle United confirmed the signing of 17-year-old Salia at the end of October. Eddie Howe’s side beat the likes of Real Madrid, Man City, Arsenal and Bayern Munich to the latest attacking talent to emerge out from this so-called ‘golden generation’ Georgian football.

And while there is obviously a temptation to liken Salia to Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Mikha Gabechava feels that there is a more fitting comparison to be made.

Salia, the former Dinamo Tibilisi scout explains, is not quite a winger like Kvaratskhelia and not quite a classic central striker either. Instead, he prefers to drop deep, link the play, and track back defensively in the style of Roberto Firmino during his Liverpool heyday.

Newcastle starlet Vakhtang Salia earns Roberto Firmino comparisons

"I can see why people compare himself to Kvaratskhelia, although I would probably say the player that he resembles even more is Roberto Firmino because of his style of play," says Gabechava, who works as a talentspotter for Belgian outfit KAA Gent these days.

"I think both of them are a mix of a poacher and a false nine. Plus, both of them have a very high work rate. I really believe if you play Salia in a 4-3-3 as a number nine, he will be much more effective than Kvaratskhelia.

“That's why I say, if they play [for the] national team, they can definitely play in the starting line-up together because they can play different roles.”

Former Georgia international and Newcastle cult hero Temuri Ketsbaia is ‘thrilled’ by Salia’s arrival, keen to see another of his compatriots make a name for himself in the Premier League on the back of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s £30 million switch from Valencia to Liverpool.

Salia, who ‘delighted’ Newcastle director Paul Mitchell when choosing The Magpies over a host of continental giants, will move to England when he turns 18 next year.

And, with six goals in 26 league games this season for Dinamo Tibilsi, Salia has already proven himself capable of making an impact outside of youth-team football.

Salia tipped to follow in Yankuba Minteh’s Eredivisie footsteps

Gabechava, meanwhile, can see Salia being sent out on loan by Newcastle initially.

The presence of Gabechava on the Gent staff may spark speculation regarding a switch to East Flanders, though the scout feels that Dutch football may suit Salia best at this stage of his career.

Newcastle, remember, made a massive profit when selling Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and Hove Albion on the back of a thrilling spell with Feyenoord.

“Probably, Newcastle will loan him out immediately. Probably to a country like the Netherlands, and I say the Netherlands because, if you compare the intensity and the speed of the game in the Netherlands to Belgium for example, the intensity is is lower,” Gabechava adds.

“The physicality that that is required is lower.

“So, for a player like Salia who comes directly from the Georgian League, which is notorious for the low level of intensity and speed, it will be much better for him to adapt in the Netherlands than in Belgium, although he’s already developing a very good physical qualities.”