Chelsea are in hot pursuit of Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, but now face stiffened competition from Paris St. Germain, who have reportedly tabled an initial £43 million to hopefully push the Italian outfit into agreeing a deal, which would allow them to talk personal terms with the frontman.

Jose Mourinho made his intentions of signing Cavani clear in his discussions with owner Roman Abramovich before deciding to return to Stamford Bridge for the second stint of his career. Given the ambitious nature of Abramovich and the failed attempt by him to bring former Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, the Russian made it a point to use his financial muscle to bring the Uruguayan to Chelsea. However, Napoli have now realized that this deal could finance their transfers for as long as the next three years, and hence they are trying to inflate the price of their in-demand striker.

Cavani has been bombarded with speculation from the media during his time in Brazil playing at the FIFA Confederations Cup, and began to grow frustrated with the constant rumors. Also, there has seemingly been a rift between Cavani and the Napoli officials, who are trying to squeeze as much out of the deal, at the expense of Cavani’s career. The striker will naturally want to get a move as early as possible, so as to give him time to settle at his new club, just like Neymar did with Barcelona.

Napoli have a new manager in Rafa Benitez, and the former Chelsea boss has a list of players on his wish-list. The Spaniard will know the importance of Cavani’s transfer fee, which will ensure surplus transfer funds to buy new recruits.

According to SkySports, PSG manager Laurent Blanc confirmed their interest in Cavani.

Blanc said, “I would be very happy.”

“He is a player that I love, like a lot of people.”

“I saw him play several times with Naples and Uruguay, and should he be part of the Parisian team, I would be very happy.”