Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani could leave the French Champions for Spain and England, according to one of his agents.
Cavani has always maintained that he is happy in Paris, however, he has stated his dissatisfaction from time to time with his role on the wide side in Laurent Blanc’s 4-3-3 system.
The former Napoli striker was seen exchanging angry words with Blanc as he stepped off the Stade Velodrome pitch during Sunday’s league win over Marseille.
This has fuelled speculation on his long term future at PSG, while media continues to link him with a move to major European clubs in the summer.
One of Cavani’s representatives, Claudio Anellucci, suggested that the Uruguayan international could move to Spain and England, should he leaves PSG.
“For the moment, it seems too early to make any such considerations. Edi is under contract with PSG and discussions of this kind are linked to different situations,” Annellucci said while speaking to Radio Olympica.
“Once the situation has been clarified, different scenarios could open up given that players such as him, at the height of their maturity, are coveted by the best teams in Europe.”
“The markets of interest are Spain and England, and that currently excludes an Italian club being able to take part in going for Cavani.”
Big clubs pay over the odds to sign top class forwards (Barcelona signed Luis Suarez for over £70m; Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool for £50m which at that time was a British transfer record) and Cavani certainly won’t be an exception to that rule. The 28-year-old is a proven goal scorer and would cost at least £40m-£50m, if not more.
Let us take a look at the clubs that are frequently linked with Cavani and analyse their chances of signing him.
Manchester United: The Red Devils are highly unlikely to convert Radamel Falcao’s loan deal into a permanent move while the futures of Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie are also in doubt. Home grown striker James Wilson is a bright prospect but he is still not ready for regular first team action. Louis van Gaal could therefore be tempted to sign an experienced striker with a proven goal scoring record and Cavani quite easily fits the bill.
Manchester City: Irrespective of where City finish at the end of the season, the squad would face a massive overhaul next summer. Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko could leave the club leading to new arrivals in their place. With Bony failing to impress since his January move, it won’t be a surprise if City opt for Cavani to partner Sergio Aguero upfront.
Chelsea: Having spent over £30m for Diego Costa, who has been brilliant in his first season at the club, Jose Mourinho would unlikely to drop his expensive striker to the bench in expense of Cavani. The Portuguese is comfortable playing with a single striker upfront and therefore would struggle to fit both Cavani and Costa together. Will Cavani accept playing second fiddle to Costa Probably not. And he wouldn’t want to play out wide either.
Real Madrid: Cavani would be a good signing for the club but Los Blancos have other major priorities and signing a striker is not one of them. The primary focus will be on signing Manchester United’s goal keeper David de Gea while the club are also reportedly monitoring the situation of Raheem Sterling, who continues to reject Liverpool’s contract extension offers.
Atletico Madrid: Vicente Calderon could definitely be an attractive destination for the Uruguayan striker. Atletico have always enjoyed the privilege of seeing some of world’s best attackers playing for them – from Fernando Torres to Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan to Radamel Falcao – the list can go on and on. Cavani would once again enjoy being the first choice striker in the side, while with him Atletico would become a serious force in Europe – a marriage made in heaven!