“He is a special player” – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti offers glowing assessment of 21-year-old forward monitored by several clubs

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is all praise for Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Ancelotti added that he has been monitoring the Georgian winger during his time as manager of I Partenopei manager.

Kvaratskhelia has taken the football world by storm with his performances this season. He has scored five goals and provided three assists in ten matches for Napoli across competitions.

His exploits have helped the Italian side to the top of the Serie A table and their UEFA Champions League group.

Ancelotti, who managed Napoli in the 2018-19 season, has heaped praise on Kvaratskhelia. The Real Madrid boss told Rai Sport (via HITC):

“It’s difficult to predict today what they can do, certainly the newcomers have made the team unpredictable. Is Kvaratskhelia a surprise? For those who didn’t know him, we were already following him when I was at Napoli. He is a special player.”

Gli Azzurri signed the 21-year-old from FC Dinamo Batumi earlier this summer for just €12 million on a five-year deal. As per CBW, Tottenham Hotspur were also monitoring the youngster last summer but didn't make an attempt to sign him.

Napoli will next be in action on October 4 when they face Ajax away in the Champions League.

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Real Madrid draw against Osasuna as Barcelona reach La Liga summit

Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu by Osasuna on October 2. That ended Los Blancos' perfect start to the season and saw Barcelona reach the top of the La Liga standings on goal difference.

Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring for Real Madrid in the first half. However, Kike Garcia equalised for Osasuna in the second half with an immaculate header. Karim Benzema hit the crossbar from the penalty spot after he was fouled in the box by David Garcia, who was sent off.

Even though Los Blancos played against ten men for over 12 minutes, they failed to find the winner as the match ended 1-1.

The hosts missed Luka Modric and Thibaut Courtois due to injury. The Croatian midfielder has returned to training, but Courtois' expected date of return is still not known.

Speaking after the game about the shotstopper's injury, Ancelotti said (via MARCA):

"Tomorrow they do tests, we wait to see what the result says. It is not very serious, but we will evaluate it."

Real Madrid will next host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on October 5.