Target Cavani Chelsea, Spurs and United in race for PSG striker
Lampard wants striker as short-term solution Giroud could follow Moses to Inter Milan
Chelsea have entered the race to sign Edinson Cavani after the striker told Paris St-germain he wanted to leave.
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are other possible suitors, but Chelsea are providing the strongest competition to Atletico Madrid, who have had one bid for the Uruguayan rejected.
PSG had hoped to hold on to the 32-year-old until his contract runs out at the end of this season, but he has tried to force the matter by handing in a transfer request.
Atletico were in pole position to sign him, either this month or in the summer, and Chelsea are now attempting to steal a march.
Although a deal to sign Cavani would be expensive, Chelsea could offset the cost against the proposed sale of Olivier Giroud to Inter Milan and the fact the club did not spend anything on transfers last summer because of their Fifa ban.
Also, Victor Moses is joining Inter on loan with a view to a permanent move from the London club.
Frank Lampard yesterday revealed his admiration of Cavani and The Daily Telegraph understands Chelsea have made inquiries about a deal this month.
The head coach said: “He is a great player, I played against him and I always loved his mentality and attitude, and obviously his goalscoring record speaks for itself. I’m not absolutely aware of what the situation is, so we’ll see. He’s an experienced player, but so are many others out there.
“The idea of bringing in experience is something I’m certainly not absolutely looking away from. Sometimes the young players need a little bit of help and if that’s the case, then that may help us.”
Asked if he was comfortable with having to find a short-term fix to his side’s difficulties, Lampard added: “I think long term, in January, can be very difficult. If that’s difficult, then short term is something we would look at because there are issues that are pressing for this season for us to finish where we want to get to. So, if we have to look short term, then it’s something we would look at.”
Chelsea are determined to avoid making the same mistakes of past windows. Managers pushed for panic signings, and the likes of Radamel Falcao, Alexandre Pato and Gonzalo Higuain flopped. Yet Lampard does not feel Cavani falls into the same category.
“I think each case is different and whether it’s worked or not in certain cases, I wouldn’t let that cloud my thinking,” he said.
“I would do it here in a moment if I felt there was experience needed and the role and the player comes up, and they’re gettable. I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, that hasn’t worked a few times with different players’. I think everyone is different. If it felt right, then it’s something we would look at doing.”
Moses is returning from a temporary stint at Fenerbahce, and Lampard admitted the winger could well be on his way out of Stamford Bridge again.
“He’s obviously coming back from his loan with a view to going elsewhere, and those talks are ongoing as well,” he said.
Cavani’s wages – £8.5 million a year after tax – are likely to provide a major stumbling block for Jose Mourinho, the Tottenham head coach, who is a big fan of the player.
He has tried to sign Cavani for Chelsea in the past and the former Napoli player would be the perfect replacement for Harry Kane, who is out injured.
But chairman Daniel Levy would have to smash Tottenham’s wage structure and the club are also attempting to bring the average age of their squad down, which may rule out Cavani.
Tottenham are pursuing other January targets and Mourinho has made it clear since his appointment that he is happy to work within the club’s financial constraints.
Marcus Rashford’s injury could mean Manchester United consider a move.
PSG have already turned down one offer from Atletico and are understood to want a fee of at least £10million to allow Cavani to leave this month.
“We’ve always said the same thing about Cavani. We were hoping he would stay with the club, but today he asked to leave,” Leonardo, the PSG sporting director, said.
“We’re studying the situation. We’ve had a proposal from Atletico Madrid, but that proposal was not commensurate with the player’s value.
“For Cavani, we’re listening. The link with Atletico Madrid has faded a bit because we haven’t been in touch since the offer. We’re looking to the future. It’s a bit clearer, for the player, for the future.
“We’ll see how it develops over the next few days. We’re listening because we respect the player.”