Manchester United are losing their battle to keep Edinson Cavani at the club beyond the end of this season, according to the print edition of the Sunday Express' sports pull-out (page 4). 

Why? 

Ole Gunnar Solskjær is said to have sat down with the veteran marksman over the prospect of a new one-year deal, though is aware of the 34-year-old's intention to return to South America. 

The Football Terrace: Why Man United need to hire Gary Neville or Rio Ferdinand...

What has Tim Vickery said about the prospect of him leaving? 

Writing in his column in The Sun last month, South American football expert Tim Vickery said Cavani grew up watching Boca Juniors amid links with a move to the Argentine giants. 

"Cavani grew up watching a fellow Uruguayan, Sergio Martinez, bang in the goals for Boca during the mid 1990s," he wrote. 

He always had the ambition to pull on the famous blue and yellow shirt - and there are hopes in Argentina that he could be just a few months away from crossing that one off the list.

How well has he performed this season? 

Proving himself to still be one of the elite strikers at the top end of the game, Cavani has adapted to life in the Premier League well. 

Only Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford have scored more than him this season and Cavani takes much fewer shots (1.3 to 3.2 and 2.2 respectively, via WhoScored), showing just how efficient he is in finding the back of the net. 

Commended by The Athletic for his work rate and ability to press from high up the pitch despite his advancing years, they also claimed that United coaches were delighted with the understanding he's started to build with the developing Mason Greenwood. 

So, it's a bad thing he's leaving?

Absolutely. 

While Cavani certainly can't be blamed for wanting to return to South America - reportedly so much that he'd be willing to take a significant pay cut - it's a real shame for United and their supporters, who haven't been able to see one of Europe's elite strikers play at Old Trafford all season. 

Clearly still capable of scoring goals at the top level, trying to bring in a replacement of sufficient quality will surely cost millions of pounds ahead of a summer window that already looks difficult.

Indeed, with Ed Woodward having resigned, Football Director John Murtough reportedly fighting for his job and a relatively low £80m budget (via The Metro) handed to Solskjær, United could have a difficult time of things when trying to replace a man who only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (according to Opta in October 2020, with Ibrahimovic overtaking Cavani since the original tweet) have outscored in Europe's five biggest leagues since 2007. 

For Greenwood to lose a partner of that calibre would be a major shame too. While clearly talented in his own right, there can't be many better players than Cavani to learn from.