The Khvicha Kvaratskhelia prospect that's guaranteed to terrify most defenders - but not Portsmouth's Terry Devlin

The prospect of going head-to-head with two-times Champions League winner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would be enough to give the world’s best full-backs many sleepless nights.

With the winger guaranteed to cost any interested club around £140m-plus if they dared to test PSG’s resolve to keep the Georgia international, he is widely recognised as one of the best attacking players currently on the planet.

Even Bradley Barcola, the £123m signing announced by Liverpool at the end of the summer transfer window, saw no pathway to consistent minutes at the Parc des Princes with Kvaratskhelia above him in the pecking order.

Meanwhile, aged just 25, it’s also safe to say that his best years are still ahead of him.

With that in mind, spare a thought for Terry Devlin, who could very well be tasked with limiting the damage Kvaratskhelia can inflict when Northern Ireland travel to Tbilisi tonight to take on Georgia in the Nations League.

It will most definitely be a step-up in the challenges he faces week in, week out in the Championship - an arena the 22-year-old has thrived in since moving from midfield to full-back last October.

But while some might tremble with fear at the prospect, the reigning Blues player of the year is taking in his stride - as all Pompey fans would expect.

The Fratton faithful are well-used to the Ulsterman’s no-nonsense actions, both on and off the pitch. The popular Pompey player lets his feet do all the talking each match-day, with 100-percent effort guaranteed. And if he speaks to the awaiting media afterwards, there’s no more honest, straight-talking member of John Mousinho’s side.

His choice of words when asked about the prospect of going head-to-head with Kvaratskhelia, will therefore come as no surprise.

‘He's an amazing player, but they have other good players as well. You can't put too much focus on one player,’ Devlin told the Irish News in the build-up to tonight’s fixture.

‘You've got to play the way you normally play. As a group, you just have to defend how you normally defend. Just go out and hopefully deal with the threat.’

Northern Ireland are competing at Nations League B level this time around after securing promotion as Group C3 winners last time out.

With fixtures against Hungary and Ukraine also on the agenda during the current international break, it represents a step-up in the calibre of opponents Michael O’Neill’s will face.

But in typical Devlin fashion, the defender won’t be too overawed.

He added: ‘There's obviously a lot of talk about the group.

‘(But) It's a big, young squad with potential. We've got to keep doing what we're doing, keep our heads down and keep working hard.

‘It is a tough task. Nations League B is going to be another step up. We've got to be ready for it. ‘

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