Striker Keen On Move As Chelsea Hold Talks Over €50m Deal For Man Utd Target

The summer transfer window is now open for business and it’s expected to be a busy few weeks as managers strengthen their squads ahead of next season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Chelsea are weighing up a move for Man Utd target Edinson Cavani.

Chelsea are weighing up a move for Manchester United target Edinson Cavani after opening talks over a potential €50m (£40m) deal with Paris Saint-Germain, according to ESPN.

Cavani’s future has been under the microscope in recent months after the forward admitted back in April that he’s growing increasingly frustrated at having to play out wide to accommodate Zlatan Ibrahimovic through the middle, and confirmed that he would hold talks with PSG officials this summer to discuss his future.

The uncertainty increased speculation of a potential move to the Premier League this summer and reports soon linked the Uruguayan hitman with long-term admirers Chelsea and Manchester United.

The Express ran a story back in June claiming that new United boss Louis van Gaal was lining-up a big-money bid for the 27-year-old as he looked to continue to re-shape his squad at Old Trafford, while the Blues have constantly been linked with Cavani in recent transfer windows.

However, it appears Chelsea have now made the first serious move to try and lure the striker to England with ESPN running an exclusive today claiming that the West Londoners have been in touch with PSG about a potential deal and were told Cavani is available for €50m (£40m) this summer.

In order to comply with FIFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations, the Ligue 1 champions need to sell off a key player to help raise money to fund a move for Real Madrid’s Angel Di Maria and it appears they’re willing to sacrifice Cavani.

Despite his public insistence that he’s staying in Paris, ESPN also claim that Cavani is keen to seal a move to Stamford Bridge and Blues officials have already held initial talks with the players representatives about a possible switch.

However, while there appears to be interest from all three parties to get a deal done this summer, there are still several obstacles that could scupper the move. Most notably is Chelsea’s ability to comply with Financial Fair Play but the report suggests that Romelu Lukaku’s £28m move to Everton has freed up substantial funds in the budget and Jose Mourinho could yet decide to cash in on another key player in order to raise further cash if needed.

Another major issue is that Chelsea have already exceeded the quota for foreign players over the age of 21, so the club are going to have to let at least one more established player leave in order to make room for Cavani.

The most obvious name would be Fernando Torres but Mourinho has just told Sky Sports that the Spaniard isn’t going anywhere this summer, so it will be interesting to see who makes way should the Blues push forward with a deal for the South American.

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It will also be interesting to see how United respond to the news that Chelsea have stepped up their interest in Cavani. On the face of it, a striker would probably be the last position you’d expect van Gaal to strengthen as he already has the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck at his disposal, but links to Cavani just won’t go away.

It would certainly be a sensational coup should Chelsea, or indeed United, manage to lure the striker to England this summer and despite his struggles last season, he still chipped in with 25 goals, so he’d be an excellent signing for either club and a welcome addition to the Premier League.