This is a player profile of the best player in the championship. Watford number 8 Giorgi Chakvetadze is one of those players you turn the game on just to watch him. His ability to beat a man is well-known now, but what else does he have to his game?
The expectations placed upon him by manager Tom Cleverley require him to do more than create a highlight reel for the ages, so how does he match up to these expectations, as well as how does he compare to some of the other best attacking midfielders in The Championship?
Taking a deep dive into the 2018 Georgian footballer of the year’s stats reveals that he is much more than just a dribbling master, read along and find out just why I feel the hornets attacking midfielder is the best player in The Championship.
Upon a glance at Chakvetadze’s, you would maybe think 8 goal contributions in 33 championship appearances as an attacking midfielder isn’t good enough. Compared to Finn Azaz’s 19 in 33 and Jack Rudoni’s 15 in 35, it seems less impressive, and as much as direct contributions aren’t the Giorgian’s best asset, a lot of Watford fans still deem 2 goals so far this campaign to be a let down. Chakvetadze’s 6 assists this term do find him as Watford’s top assister, which says a lot about the Hornets’ play off charge. Though these numbers are generally seen as disappointing for a player of Chakvetadze’s undoubted quality, it is his indirect contributions where you see the Watford man separate himself from the other number 10s in the division.
The Georgians 190 progressive carries this season him more than both Azaz and Rudoni…. Combined. These are not just short 5-yard burst up-field, also, Chavetadze ranks top of the championship for progressive yards this season. With 5,477 progressive yards this season, he sits over 800 yards ahead of his nearest competition in Joe Rodon. This leaves him with an average progressive carry of nearly 30 yards, which is scarily high and is top quality, not just in The Championship but across the whole of Europe. Carrying is not the only way that Chakvetadze can progress the ball for his Watford side.
With 1.9 progressive passes per 90 this season, the Georgian ranks third in the division, only behind Azaz (2.0 p90) and Alfie Doughty (2.9 p90). To have 11.72 progressive actions per 90 this season is something that not a lot of players in the world can offer with Watford’s superstar ranking in the 85th percentile for progressive passes and 95th percentile for progressive carries over the last year when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers across the globe.
So why is a player of this undoubted quality playing in the second tier of English football? Giorgi showed his quality on one of the biggest stages, being a key role in a Georgia side that massively over exceeded expectations, usually such performances would earn a big money move to a top side. You only had to look one position up on the team sheet to find Georges Mikautadze, who’s impressive goal scoring record at the Euros earned him a £15 million move to Lyon in France.
So what scared potential suitors away from Chakvetadze? One thing that immediately sticks out is the attacking midfielders’ torrid injury record, with two lengthy knee injuries in as many years, keeping him out for over 80 games, is always going to be something that worries buyers. With a clean injury record since returning from his second of two knee injuries, he has been able to thrive in the yellow and black of Watford, where he initially signed on loan, then permanently in the January window of 2024 from KAA Gent. This clean injury record and high quality performances prompted the Watford board to sign their star man to a new deal shortly after the Euros concluded, which may be another reason the Georgian remains tearing championship defences apart week in week out.
Sitting 3 points outside of the play-offs at the time of writing, promotion looks unlikely for the Hornets who may have to prepare for life next season without their key man, but where could he go? Two options that stick out to me, at least still in England, are Wolves and Burnley, granted the Clarets gain promotion. Wolves seem set to leave Matheus Cunha in the summer with a rumoured £60 million release clause in his new deal. While Chakvetadze cannot replace Cunha like for like, I do feel he can do a very good job at being a cheaper option who can provide the same ball progression and creativity that Cunha provides Wolves at the moment.
Burnley on the other hand are another great option for different reasons. Scott Parker loves individual quality in all of his players and has been accused of relying on it in certain circumstances, individual quality is something Chakvetadze has buckets of. With Burnley having both Marcus Edwards and Jaidon Anthony on loan at the moment, they will be short of wide options next year regardless, something the signing of Chakvetadze could help solve.
One point of Chakvetadze’s game that could be most valuable to whichever side he goes to in the summer, especially if he does go to a struggling Premier League side, could be his defensive prowess. The Georgian international is ranked top of possession won for Watford this season, showing his willingness to get stuck in, something all players in a bottom 6 Premier League side needs. This is further backed up by his performances for Georgia, where Chakvetadze is often deployed as a ball carrying number 8 who transitions his side out of defence by carrying the ball over the halfway line.
