Chelsea have pulled out of the race for Napoli star Edinson Cavani, leaving Manchester City and Real Madrid to go head-to-head for his signature this summer, according to The Sun.
The Uruguayan international is one of the most fearsome strikers in Europe, having bagged 36 goals in 41 games for his Serie ‘A’ side this season. But Chelsea have dropped out of the race following the discovery that a deal for Cavani would likely cost in excess of £100m.
Napoli will reportedly hold out for a £60m fee for their star forward, while the report claims Cavani would earn £8m-a-year on a five-year deal.
The 26-year-old is thought to be ‘lukewarm’ on the idea of joining newly crowned Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain – one of only a handful of clubs in the world with the financial firepower to pull off such a deal.
Manchester City and Real Madrid are certainly two others, while Chelsea have not been afraid to splash the cash under Roman Abramovich.
But the report claims the Blues will turn their attention elsewhere, leaving City and Real Madrid to fight it out this summer. And manager-less City may hold the advantage.
The report claims Bosnian international Edin Dzeko could hold the key to a potential deal for Cavani, with talks ongoing regarding a potential cash-plus-player deal.
The attraction for City is that such an agreement would lower the initial cost outlay from £60m, and they’d free up some of their wage budget having offloaded Dzeko.
Napoli would also be getting an international striker plus cash in exchange for Cavani.
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