According to the Express, Chelsea are in pole position to land PSG star Edinson Cavani in January as Maurizio Sarri looks to find a solution to his No.9 woes.
Reports claim that PSG have shown an inclination to offload their star to one of the Premier League giants although Chelsea are likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Atletico Madrid and Cavani’s former club Napoli.
However, Chelsea are willing to cough up as much as £45million for the star striker while Atletico and Napoli are reluctant to table a bid beyond £36 million. (h/t Express)
Cavani, who has represented Uruguay in three World Cups, had a wonderful season last time around in Ligue 1, scoring 28 goals and providing 6 assists from 32 appearances. He has hit the ground running this term as well, scoring 10 goals from 10 appearances in the French top flight.
Meanwhile, Chelsea currently sit 4th in the Premier League standings with 34 points from 16 games, 10 points behind leaders Manchester City with a game in hand. The Blues have fared really well under Maurizio Sarri this season, enjoying an unbeaten run of twelve games in the league which was eventually ended by Spurs.
After a disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Wolves, Chelsea came back strongly to produce arguably their best performance of the season, beating Manchester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last week.
As much as Chelsea have promised this season, question marks still remain over the No.9 spot in the team. Olivier Giroud has netted only once in the Premier League to go with his four assists while Alvaro Morata has once again proven himself to be a glaring misfit for the style of play prevalent in England. The Spaniard has scored 5 goals in the league but his performances have been largely underwhelming, forcing Sarri to use Eden Hazard as the false nine in his
Giroud and Morata’s failures to make a significant impact have caused Chelsea to rely heavily upon Eden Hazard. The Belgian has been the indispensable weapon for the Blues in the final third, scoring goals and creating the chances to keep the team going. He has accumulated 7 goals and 8 assists so far and he has been at the centre of everything that Chelsea have achieved so far.
Well, this over-reliance on Eden Hazard can prove to be detrimental to Chelsea’s chances of winning the title should the Belgian maestro be sidelined with an injury. Moreover, they need a proper centre-forward to help them achieve a better goalscoring record.
And Edinson Cavani certainly fits the bill at Stamford Bridge. The Uruguayan is still performing at the peak of his powers at 31 and it would be a shrewd move by Sarri to swoop for him in January.
Cavani is one of the most prolific and established strikers in world football and there would hardly be any fans who would need an introduction to his attributes. Versatility, dynamism, consistency and experience – Cavani has got everything in plenty to taste success in the Premier League.
The 31-year-old has a deadly eye for goal from all ranges and is capable of dominating the opposition with his strength and aerial prowess. He is a clinical finisher and has the ability to terrorize defences with his pace, skills, movement and tactical awareness.
That said, Chelsea should go all out to sign him in January as a striker of Cavani’s calibre can definitely help the Blues in their bid of challenging the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League crown.