Antonio Conte has revealed that Napoli talisman Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has demanded to quit the club in the January transfer window.
The Georgia superstar, 23, is one of the most exciting young talents in Europe and has been linked with huge clubs from both the Premier League and top leagues from further afield since the winter window opened earlier this month.
Liverpool are known to be avid admirers of Kvaratskhelia - and it now seems likely he will be on the move sooner rather than later according to Conte.
The Napoli boss said on Saturday: “[Kvaratskhelia] asked the club to be sold. I'm disappointed. It was a bolt from the blue. I don't want him to think I've chained him here... We're losing an important player.”
Conte added: “I tried to convince Kvaratskhelia to stay but he has decided to go and try new chapter. The club and his agent will now find the solution… I can’t keep Kvara here if he doesn’t want to stay.”
News of Kvaratskhelia's desire to move on to pastures new is likely to pique the attention of Liverpool's powerbrokers, although the player is said to have all but agreed to join French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
The French champions have not yet been able to agree a deal with Napoli, though, meaning Kvaratskhelia could be denied his dream move.
Arne Slot was tight-lipped on a potential move for Kvaratskhelia earlier this week, saying: "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."