Chelsea have struck a deal in the region of £49.3 million for striker Edinson Cavani, according to Napoli’s official radio station Radio Marte.
On Monday evening, the radio station announced that they have received news from a very reliable source that both the clubs have agreed a deal for Cavani’s sale.
According to their reports, as noted by Daily Mail, Napoli will receive €58 million from the deal, a slight discount from the player’s buy-out clause, while the Uruguayan will earn €8.5 million per season plus image rights.
Cavani’s future has been under intense speculation in the media with Chelsea, PSG, Manchester City and Real Madrid all have registered their interest in him.
It was reported that Napoli had rejected earlier bids from both the English clubs, with Chelsea offering Fernando Torres plus cash, while Manchester City were ready to throw Edin Dzeko in the mix to the Serie A giants.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis harboured concerns over the future of Cavani but made it very clear that the club won’t accept offers of less than £53 million, which is the amount the buyer clubs have to pay to trigger his release clause.
Cavani, who had dropped subtle hints about his desire join Real Madrid or Chelsea, said recently as quoted in the Goal.com, that he is happy at the club, but it would be hard for him to say ‘no’ if good offers come to him from top European clubs.
Further, the striker claimed early this month that he would relish the opportunity to work with the Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho. He said as quoted in the Guardian:
“The Special One? It would be a pleasure to be managed by someone like him.
“Chelsea? I don’t know if they’ve made an offer for me but I know that working for a coach like Pellegrini or Mourinho would be a great pleasure.”
Napoli are looking to end this transfer saga as early within 20th July, as the club president is looking to provide new manager Rafael Benitez, sufficient money and time to sculpt the squad according to his own taste.
De Laurentiis said, while speaking to Radio Rai as quoted by Football Italia:
“Will I let Cavani go before August 10? I trust in the man, then if he doesn’t want to it’ll be a joke on me.
“However, I believe he is a real man and will therefore remain at Napoli. If he does decide to go, it will in any case be after the Confederations Cup. We will know everything by July 20. If not, I’ll smack him!”
Quite understandably, such comments were not taken heartily by the Uruguay international and then came the inevitable riposte:
“Those statements were strong and I didn’t really like them very much. Now I want to speak with the president face-to-face, as I have done on numerous occasions in the past.”
Meanwhile, Daily Mirror reports that Premier League champions Manchester United are looking to make a record-breaking £50 million move for Cavani.
New manager David Moyes is keen to play two men upfront as per the report, and Cavani would be a perfect foil for Robin van Persie.
Any serious bid from the champions will definitely put question marks over Wayne Rooney’s future at the club, but one cannot stop thinking why United would want to pay such ridiculous sum of money for Cavani when they already have plenty of attacking options at their disposal. The money could be better used elsewhere.
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