'Outstanding': Newcastle beat Real Madrid to 'Steven Gerrard-like' wonderkid, terms agreed already
Today at 12:45 PM
The phrase ‘Golden Generation’ is usually one beset with pitfalls. But as Newcastle United close in, could The Magpies cash in on Georgia’s unexpected rise as a European footballing force?
The surprise packages of Euro 2024, the future certainly looks bright for a nation who, cruising past Portugal and only defeated by eventual champions Spain, took the continent by storm over the summer.
In Napoli sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georgia boast an attacker capable of dining out alongside Europe’s very best forwards. Georges Mikautadze earned himself a big-money move to Lyon after scoring 13 goals in half a season at Metz.
Otar Kiteishvili was a key part of the Sturm Graz side which snapped Red Bull Salzburg’s domination of the Austrian scene last season. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is joining Liverpool from Valencia in a £30 million deal.
And, as Giorgi Chakvetadze continues to scythe through Championship defences like a knife through butter, the feeling among Watford fans is they’d be best served enjoying him for as long as they can.
But is the very best Georgian talent of this so-called Golden Generation yet to emerge? And is he on his way to Newcastle United?
Newcastle United beat Real Madrid and co to Vakhtang Salia
HITC reports that, despite interest from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and more, Newcastle are set to win the race for Vakhtang Salia.
A teenage forward who has made quite the splash with Dinamo Tbilisi in his homeland, Salia is expected to arrive on Tyneside when he turns 18 next year.
Newcastle have agreed terms with both Salia’s camp as well as his current employers. And, while still very much a work in progress, this is quite the coup given the level of interest from both at home and abroad.
In addition to Real, Bayern and City, Salia also had admirers at Arsenal, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
And The Guardian, including Salia in their annual list of the best young talents in world football, go some way to explaining why a teenager still only 31 league games into his senior career is such hot property.
“Salia has been hailed by some as the future of Georgian football, and not without reason,” writes Artur Petrosyan, a scout and an expert in Eastern European football.
“He possesses all the qualities of a top attacking player. [Salia] is technically gifted, has explosive acceleration and a sharp eye for goal. But perhaps even more impressive is his vision.”
Newcastle-bound Salia likened to Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard
Salia shot to fame with a goal on his Dinamo Tibilisi debut. Thus, scribing his name into the history books as the youngest goalscorer in the history of Georgia’s top flight.
But, while most his appearances have come as a central attacker or as winger on the left-hand side, Petrosyan believes that Salia shares one stand-out attribute with one of the greatest midfielders of the 21st century.
“His Steven Gerrard-like long-range passing – combined with his ability to deliver crosses and through balls – makes him an outstanding team player,” Petrosyan adds, likening Salia’s pinpoint distribution and his cutting edge in the final third to the legendary Liverpool captain.
“Has been deployed as a winger or false nine by his club, and as a number ten on his debut for Georgia Under-21s at the age of 16 this summer.”
TBR understands that another Georgian could follow Salia to the Premier League in 2025.
Arsenal and Liverpool are keeping close tabs on Kvaratskhelia’s situation at Napoli, with contract talks continuing to stall at the Serie A pacesetters.
