Chelsea to hold talks over Edinson Cavani's transfer from Napoli in the next 24 hours
Chelsea to hold talks over Edinson Cavani's transfer from Napoli in the next 24 hours
Uruguayan now tops the shopping list after Monaco bought Falcao and Dortmund refused to sell Lewandowski PLUS Torres latest
See you in August! Chelsea have a fight on to stop Uruguay's Cavani joining Confederations Cup foe Alvaro Arbeloa at Real Madrid
Buda Mendes - FIFA
Chelsea will hold crunch talks with Napoli in the next 24 hours to
try to bring their Uruguayan hitman Edinson Cavani to Stamford Bridge.
As
Fernando Torres lobbed the ball of his Blues future back into the court
of Jose Mourinho, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed he
plans to meet the Londoners this week.
Mourinho,
seemingly stymied in his attempts to land Borussia Dortmund striker
Robert Lewandowski, has urged the Chelsea hierarchy to now do all they
can to recruit Cavani.
The Special One is desperate for a top-class line-leader to spearhead his second spell in SW6 and an assault to recapture the Premier League title.
Cavani is now the most accessible after Dortmund blocked any move for Lewandowski and Atletico Madrid’s Radamel Falcao joined Monaco.
Blues
owner Roman Abramovich is willing to back Mourinho’s judgement and make
a serious bid for the Uruguayan, but will not be held to ransom.
And
with Chelsea reluctant to meet Napoli’s £53million buy-out clause
valuation, and Cavani again hinting that Real Madrid is his preferred
option, the odds are increasingly against Mourinho getting his man.
De Laurentiis is seeking to use Chelsea’s interest, and that of Manchester City - who were ready to offer striker Edin Dzeko in part exchange - to get the best deal possible from the Spanish giants.
On
Tuesday, after Cavani spoke warmly about the prospect of life at the
Bernabeu, it emerged Real would be prepared to offer German midfielder
Sami Khedira - another potential Chelsea target - and Spain Under-21
striker Alvaro Morata as part of a package deal.
Cavani, currently on Confederations Cup duty in Brazil, said:
“Real Madrid is a great team. To play for them is the dream of every
child.
“So far, however, officially, nobody has spoke directly with me to make me an offer.
“At this stage, I am not thinking about my future. I am a Napoli player for now, and I am focused on the Confederations Cup.
“It’s not up to me what the clubs decide, there are other factors to consider.”
Unless
the summit talks find a breakthrough Chelsea may have to look
elsewhere, with Torres’ declarations from Brazil adding to the intrigue. Mourinho’s comments about the £50m striker have been decidedly equivocal so far,
adding to the belief that he wants to sell a man who has under-achieved
in the two and a half years since his British record move from
Liverpool.
Now Torres has upped the ante, by making it clear
Mourinho will be the one responsible if he does not start next season
wearing a Chelsea shirt.
While new Napoli boss Rafa Benitez - who
got more of a tune out of Torres than his first three Chelsea managers
managed - has so far resisted a part-exchange deal that would see him
reunited with his former Liverpool charge, the Spaniard could still be
used as bait to land Cavani.
Torres said: “I am used to the
rumours. It is normal, every summer, and something we have to live
through, about new coaches, new players.
“Until the end of the Confederations Cup, I am not even going to think about that. My head is here with the national team.
“Chelsea is the club where I am and where I want to be. I want to win titles here.
“Mourinho
is a very demanding coach, but that guarantees success, as it always
has. I have the confidence that he has something prepared for me.
“But ultimately, the only thing you can play is a place where they want you and want you to work.
“What I can say is that I am aware that Chelsea expected much more from me. I expected more from me.”
No comments:
Post a Comment