Edinson Cavani may be a Paris Saint-Germain legend, but he doesn’t want to be in the French capital anymore.
During the length of the January transfer window, the Uruguayan has pushed for a move to Atlético Madrid by handing in a transfer request, having his parents make public statements, and he even called Nasser Al-Khelaifi to plead his case but the PSG president didn’t answer.
Atléti has made two bids that we know of with a third expected on Thursday but they may pull out altogether. Cavani is 32-years-old, injury-prone, and can be had for free in five months when his PSG contract expires. I wouldn’t blame them for walking away from the negotiating table.
While I respect PSG for naming their price (upwards of €20 million) and sticking to it, there may be a better alternative to Cavani that they should explore.
In a report from L’Equipe, they list Paris Saint-Germain as a possible destination for Chelsea FC’s own wantaway striker, Olivier Giroud.
Like Cavani, Giroud has struggled to get on the pitch this season and has only scored one goal in seven appearances across all competitions.
The lack of playing time is primarily due to manager Frank Lampard preferring to develop Chelsea’s young crop of players and not due to injury, which makes him that much more of an attractive candidate for PSG as a backup striker to Mauro Icardi.
Cavani and Giroud both have contracts that expire in five months and there were reports earlier this month that indicated the London club was potentially interested in signing El Matador before he made it known that Atlético Madrid was his preferred destination.
However, if the La Liga club refuses to increase their offer for Cavani, PSG could make a last-ditch effort to rekindle Chelsea’s interest in Cavani and perhaps take Giroud off their hands with Inter Milan potentially backing out of a deal for the Frenchman.
Giroud, who has experience in Ligue 1 from his time with Montpellier HSC before joining Arsenal FC in 2012, would get plenty of playing time under manager Thomas Tuchel, which is vital as Giroud hopes to make one last appearance in this summer’s UEFA Euro 2020 with France.
I was a proponent of keeping Cavani in Paris but if PSG can exchange him for a more durable striker of equal quality, it makes sense for the reigning French champions to move on at this point. This is a vital season for PSG and they can’t afford to have any malcontents in the dressing room.
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