Chelsea refuse to spend £12.6m on talented veteran striker

Chelsea are only willing to sign PSG striker Edinson Cavani on loan due to the fact that the talented veteran will be available for free this summer.

Chelsea are still among the top four in the Premier League table, but Frank Lampard is worried that his squad’s inexperience will lead to more inconsistency in the remaining months of the season. Tammy Abraham has done a fine job leading the front-line this season with 13 goals to his name, but the 22-year-old has not been scoring regularly as of late.

Chelsea have been linked with a move for PSG striker Edinson Cavani, but a new report from Eurosport claims that Chelsea are not willing to meet PSG’s asking price for the striker. The French giants are only asking Chelsea to pay £12.6m for Cavani, which is considered a bargain price in today’s football market.

The same report goes on to say that Chelsea are trying to negotiate a loan deal for Cavani, but completing this type of deal will be difficult since PSG are hoping to make a quick profit on a player with an expiring contract. On one end, Chelsea’s reluctance to meet PSG’s asking price makes sense since Cavani will be available for free in the summer. On the other end, though, Chelsea face competition from Atletico Madrid for his signature.

What Should Chelsea Do?

The short answer to that question: pay the fee. Yes, Cavani is approaching the end of his career, but he still has some good years left in him. We are talking about a striker who averaged just over 18 goals per season when he was in the Serie A, scored 136 goals for PSG in 195 Ligue 1 appearances, and is still scoring goals for fun with Uruguay at the international level.

Signing Cavani for free in the summer is obviously the best possible scenario for Chelsea, but it looks more and more likely that Atletico Madrid will snap him up before January 31st if Chelsea refuse to act. In a recent report from Football.London, Lampard confirmed that he is aware of the fact that Cavani submitted a transfer request, and he praised the Uruguayan’s work rate and mentality.

If Lampard sees Cavani as a good fit for his team, Roman Abramovich should dig into his pockets and spend just under £13m to bring Cavani in. The fact that Cavani is still focused on playing for elite clubs in Europe’s best leagues just goes to show that he is ready for a new challenge and feels he can have a positive impact. Chelsea need a quality striker with a wealth of experience and they would get that in Cavani.