Giorgi Kvernadze Could Be the Winger Roma's Attack Needs

Why Roma is looking for more

Roma's attack ranks among Serie A's best by almost any measure, which makes the transfer chatter around Gian Piero Gasperini's forwards look odd at first. Here's the thing: a good attack and a deep attack aren't the same thing. The case for reinforcing it isn't about fixing something broken. It's about giving Gasperini enough depth to stay in the title race when the injuries pile up.

That's already happening. Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné have missed time, and the results are showing it. Rodrigo Mora and the current wingers are capable, but the squad has few ways to change shape mid-match. Intense, high-pressing systems tend to demand the same physical output from every attacker, so a single absence can cost more than the player's individual numbers suggest. New attacking options would help, and that's the honest reason the club is looking. The risk is that a new arrival stalls a young player's development, which is why the right signing matters more than the number of them.

The name that keeps coming up

Most of the summer was spent on Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Endrick. Now the conversation has shifted to Frosinone's Giorgi Kvernadze, a 23-year-old left winger who has been central to his club's rise. Over the last two seasons he has scored eight goals and added 10 assists, and Frosinone earned promotion last spring. That's a meaningful shift, and it tells you something about how a club like Roma recalibrates when a first-choice target gets out of reach. Chasing a Real Madrid player is one kind of exercise. Chasing a player whose market is still forming is another, and it's usually a lot less predictable.

Serie A is a bigger stage, and he's handling it well. Three goals and four assists in 11 appearances have Frosinone sixth in the table, ahead of Juventus and Napoli. That's a strong return for a player who is only now establishing himself at this level. I'd call it promising rather than proven, though. Eleven games is a small sample, and wingers who dominate promoted sides don't always carry that form into matches against the division's better defences. (and this is the part most people overlook) the real test for a player like Kvernadze isn't the goals column. It's whether he keeps producing when the opposition has spent a week studying him.

Who's chasing him

According to multiple Italian outlets, including Gazzetta dello Sport, Roma has identified Kvernadze as its ideal January addition. Nicolo Schira reports that the competition will be stiff, with Crystal Palace and AS Monaco also interested. January deals are rarely relaxed affairs, because the seller knows the buyer's clock is ticking. Rival suitors only sharpen that dynamic.

Pricing is the tricky part. Kvernadze is still building his reputation, yet many already compare him to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and that comparison will push his value up. Comparisons like that are a double-edged thing. They generate attention and interest, but they also set expectations that a 23-year-old may not be able to meet on a timetable anyone chooses. His contract runs through 2028 and includes a €4 million release clause that becomes active in July 2027. On paper, that clause looks modest for a player of his profile. It's worth being precise about what it means, though. Until July 2027, it doesn't give any buyer a straightforward route, which means the negotiation runs through Frosinone. And that gives the selling club a reason to weigh offers now rather than later.

What this means for Roma

Roma doesn't have much time. The window is short, and rival suitors will make negotiations tight. If Kvernadze is the piece that turns a strong attack into a title-caliber one, the club should move quickly. That's a big if, and I'd want to see the deal structured with some protection against the Kvaratskhelia comparison becoming an expensive assumption.

If you're following Serie A closely, this is worth watching for reasons beyond one player. Mid-season deals for young wingers from promoted clubs tend to reveal how a club really values depth. A signing like this would show that Roma is thinking about the second half of the season, not just the first. And yet, the same logic applies to the opposite case: a club can pay top dollar for a reputation and still find that the minutes don't come easily. The question isn't whether Kvernadze is talented. It's whether Roma can fit him into a system that already runs on a settled group, without quietly damaging the development of the players already in it.