There have been reports from Sky sources suggesting Chelsea have made a serious move for the services of Edinson Cavani from Napoli and are now viewed as the leading contender for the Uruguayan striker. Manchester City were viewed as the front runners for the Serie A 29 goal top scorer but seemingly they dismissed the £54million price tag with Real Madrid and Paris St Germain still waiting in the wings. Knowing the nature of Mr Abramovich I don’t think personal terms offered to the Uruguayan in a proposed transfer to Stamford Bridge would be a barrier to the player coming to West London so Chelsea look like they are in the game but they too dislike the idea of meeting the buyout clause of €63million.
Cavani’s performances for Uruguay have been terrific, and scoring a brace in the play-off final just added fuel to the bidding war in motion for the Napoli striker. However, the Italian club have realized that they own one of the hottest properties in world football and will wait to pick the most lucrative deal for the transfer and cash in on their star striker but only if it is the right deal.
As Fox Sports are reporting, Chelsea have indeed made an approach to Napoli for Cavani so hopefully some kind of negotiations are now under way. Cavani is reportedly due to meet his agent this week to discuss his buyout clause as the player has been quotied as saying that while he is happy to stay in Napoli he may move to a bigger club one day but to wait and see but he does want to end the uncertainty surrounding his situation.
This looks like it is going to drag on for a while as Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has said,
“If a club offers €63million, then we would allow him to leave. The release clause will have been activated. Should we receive an offer, then fine. If this offer doesn’t arrive, then Cavani will stay in Italy with us.”
Former Chelsea boss and newly installed Napoli manager echoed his superior’s tough negotiating stance by saying to Corriere dello Sport when interviewed,
“We want Cavani to stay at Napoli. We would be really happy if that’s how it works out. If he leaves, then it would only be because someone has matched the release clause or comes up with an irresistible offer. Cavani knows how much he is loved and how valuable he is to the city and to the team.”
The Cavani signing is definitely going to be an on/off transfer saga with much use of the media to apply pressure and ratchet up the price, tension etc, so we’re just going to have to think positive thoughts and be patient which quite frankly sucks! It’s looking like this deal is going to take a while and I really hope I am proven wrong, so let’s hope that the Mourinho effect plus playing for Chelsea in the top league in Europe and the Champions League will do the trick and convince Edison that West London is the place for him.