Napoli’s director, Giovanni Manna, expressed his satisfaction at seeing Billy Gilmour earn his first start in tonight’s Coppa Italia match against Palermo, while confirming that there is ‘no deadline’ for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s new contract.
The match will kick off at 20:00 UK time (19:00 GMT) at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The winner will advance to face Lazio in the Third Round, with the outcome determined on the same night—if the score is tied after 90 minutes, the game will go directly to a penalty shootout instead of extra time.
Coach Antonio Conte has made significant changes to the starting lineup from the recent Serie A match against Juventus, including first starts for Gilmour and Rafa Marin.
“The Coppa Italia holds a special importance for us, akin to a European competition, and we intend to honor it by aiming for success,” Manna told Sport Mediaset. “The coach has faith in the entire squad. We anticipate seeing the positive results of our training sessions, as all players are putting in excellent work.”
While Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay are rested, David Neres and Leonardo Spinazzola will feature in the starting eleven.
“We aimed to maximize our resources by blending experienced players like Lukaku, Neres, McTominay, and Spinazzola with younger talents like Buongiorno, Rafa Marin, and Gilmour. Perhaps we could have done a bit more, but considering it’s my first session as Napoli’s director of sport, I view it positively.”
Regarding Kvaratskhelia’s contract, Manna noted that while the transfer window has closed, he is actively negotiating an extension for the Georgian international, although discussions have been protracted.
“I’ve mentioned this before, and I’ll reiterate: there’s no hurry. We aren’t rushing toward a renewal. He has three years remaining on his contract with Napoli. We’re in discussions, there’s no deadline, and we’re relaxed about the situation. We’ll see how things develop in the coming months.”
Recently, there were rumors about a last-minute attempt by Milan to loan Victor Osimhen from Napoli before his transfer to Galatasaray. “No one has contacted us,” Manna insisted.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
GeorgiaThis season he played in total twice for 134 minutes for Coppa Italia.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia didn’t score any goal for Napoli. He procured no assists. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 2nd in Coppa Italia. In the last match Napoli won 5-0 against Palermo. The next match in Coppa Italia will be against Monza.
