There has been no recent news about Jose Mourinho’s impending arrival at Chelsea, but the club continues to be linked to Napoli’s striker Edinson Cavani, who has been a long-term target for owner Roman Abramovich.
Drogba’s image grew over his career at Stamford Bridge as a cult hero, with the fans depending on him to produce the goals, while Cavani’s consistency at Napoli has impressed Europe’s elite clubs, and Abramovich is a huge fan of the striker. After Drogba, the owner tried to encourage Fernando Torres to step up to the plate, but that has backfired for Abramovich. After spending £50 million on Torres when he was brought from Liverpool, the Spaniard felt the pressure of the price tag, and hasn’t lived up to expectations at Chelsea.
The 26-year old Cavani started his career in his home town in Uruguay, where he played for the Danubio FC youth setup, before joining the club on a professional contract in 2005. The Uruguayan then joined Italian side Palermo for nearly £3.5 million. The striker played 109 times for the club, scoring 34 goals. Once he started making a name for himself, he was approached by Napoli, who snatched him up in the summer transfer window of 2010.
Napoli was the club where Cavani discovered exquisite form, scoring 78 goals in just 104 appearances, proving an excellent scoring ratio for a top European league, especially given how tough defenders are in the Serie A. After this step, Cavani was linked with various clubs including Chelsea and Real Madrid and has been rumoured to leave Italy since last summer.
Mourinho is reportedly also a fan of the striker, and wants Abramovich to secure a firm bid for the player once the Portuguese arrives at the club. Demba Ba and Victor Moses have not performed as expected either, and Cavani’s arrival will only motivate players like Ba and Moses to step up.
The potential partnership between Cavani and Lukaku seems an interesting one, with both strikers in terrific form lately.
According to the Metro, Cavani is keeping quiet about his links with any club, naturally to avoid a hike in the fee demanded by Napoli.
Cavani said, “Real Madrid, Chelsea and City are interested in me? I just think about Napoli.
If an important offer were to come in, I will talk with president [Aurelio] De Laurentiis.
I’m fine in Italy, I have grown as a man there and as a player with the Serie A experience.”