Liverpool and Arsenal directors have flown to Estonia, Paris FC are dangling guaranteed minutes, all for a teenager known as Andria Bartishvili.
Georgian insider account Geo Team first broke the core of this saga three weeks ago. It has not stopped moving since. Three clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Paris FC, are all actively working on a deal for a 17-year-old who has played 16 senior league games. That is not a typo. Bartishvili, born March 30, 2009, is already a Georgia U21 international.
According to Sami Mokbel of the BBC, Arsenal were pursuing a pre-contract arrangement that converts into a full deal only once he turns 18 in March 2027.
His permanent contract with parent club Kolkheti 1913 runs until the end of 2026. His loan at Iberia in 1999 carries the same expiry date. That contract situation is essentially an open invitation to European clubs.
Iberia or Kolkheti cannot demand a big fee for a player whose deals expire simultaneously at the end of the year. Liverpool and Arsenal, according to Geo Team, have already submitted identical offers to the player’s camp.
Why is Andria Bartishvili so Coveted by Liverpool and Arsenal?
Opta’s data records 14 appearances, 731 minutes, two goals and two goal involvements for Iberia in the Erovnuli Liga season so far. Daily Cannon notes those contributions only arrived after Bartishvili broke into the starting eleven from early May onwards. The context makes the numbers considerably more impressive.
On July 9, Geo Team reported something that genuinely escalated this story. Representatives from both Liverpool and Arsenal flew to Tallinn, Estonia, to watch Bartishvili in person as Iberia faced FC Flora in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round.
Arsenal’s Head of Scouting, Mauricio Micheli, was present, according to the same source, cited by Football365. Scout Bence Bocsak, who watched the match, described Bartishvili on social media as a player with quick feet, excellent body orientation, good movement into space, and strong link-up play.
These are not vague phrases. Scouts tend to use precise language. Those observations point to a player who already reads the game well beyond his years.
TEAMtalk reported on July 9 that Liverpool submitted a formal contract offer to Bartishvili, framing him as the club’s next generational #10 target.
Liverpool have form here. Rio Ngumoha arrived from Chelsea as a teenager, Ifeanyi Ndukwe was picked up from Austria Vienna, and Dara Jikiemi came from Celtic. FSG clearly do not wait for teenagers to become famous before spending money.
Paris FC’s pitch is different. Where Liverpool and Arsenal offer prestige and project, the newly promoted Ligue 1 side are offering guaranteed first-team football from day one, per Geo Team.
For a teenager who only started regularly from May, that is a meaningful proposition. It will not be lost on Bartishvili’s camp that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, to whom the youngster has inevitably been compared, most explicitly by Geo Team, chose a development path that prioritised consistent minutes before making a giant leap.
Where would Bartishvili’s preferred destination be?
Paris FC, fresh into the top flight, arguably offers a clearer route onto the pitch than Arsenal’s midfield or Liverpool’s evolving squad under new manager Andoni Iraola.
Earlier claims that Arsenal had already reached an agreement were denied directly by Geo Team on Instagram. Bartishvili himself reposted that denial on his own Instagram story, which is about as close to a personal confirmation as you are going to get from a 17-year-old.
The BBC, Read Arsenal, and Daily Cannon all covered that update. No deal exists yet. The return leg against Flora on 14 July is the moment Bartishvili and his family said they would use to make a decision, per the Geo Team reporting. That match is tomorrow.
Our opinion on this? Liverpool will get it over the line. FSG’s track record with Georgian talent, Iraola’s reputation for developing attackers, and the Anfield platform are all factors.
The clearest signal is what Bartishvili did on Instagram. He did not repost Liverpool content or Arsenal content. He reposted the update that kept everyone in the race.
That is a teenager who has not closed any door. Paris FC’s guarantee of minutes is real, but a 17-year-old who is already in Champions League qualifying with Iberia will not be scared by development pathways at Anfield. The Premier League pulls, and Liverpool have shown they know exactly how to close this kind of deal.