Expectation does not come much greater than being nicknamed after your club"s most iconic ever player, especially when that player is Diego Maradona and the adoring fans are those in the Italian city of Naples, writes BBC.

“Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s arrival may not have sparked the same feverish hype as El Diego’s transfer from Barcelona 38 years ago, but a blistering start to life in Serie A has stirred excitement and even seen the winger dubbed “Kvaradona”.

Kvaratskhelia spoke about the responsibility of being mentioned alongside Maradona and what the Argentine meant to the club when he signed, albeit admitting he liked the nickname.

“I can’t come close to Maradona but I will give my all to be a big player for this club”, - he added.

The 21-year-old already looks a snip of a signing at £9m, arriving following a short spell with Georgian side Dinamo Batumi where he scored eight goals in 11 games after his contract with Russian side Rubin Kazan was suspended because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Kvaratskhelia, like Maradona, made his Serie A debut against Verona - though unlike the Argentine, he played a key role in a 5-2 win with a goal and an assist. Things got even better for the Georgian when he scored twice on his home debut against Monza a week later, one a superb curling, right-footed strike from distance.

“It was an amazing revelation, we did not expect it - it was a great surprise to us and that is the best kind of surprise”, - says Kirsten Schlewitz, author of More than Maradona and part of the Far From Vesuvius podcast.

With club legends Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly and Dries Mertens all leaving, Kvaratskhelia is part of a Napoli rebuild that has also seen centre-back Kim Min-jae, midfielders Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Tanguy Ndombele, and forwards Giovanni Simeone and Giacomo Raspadori join Luciano Spalletti’s squad.

Kvaratskhelia is perhaps the most intriguing of Napoli"s arrivals because of his distinct ball-carrying approach and ability to change games - predominantly operating off the left, he has attempted 6.58 dribbles per 90 minutes so far in the Italian top flight and made a goal contribution every 60 minutes”, - writes the author of the article.