Manchester City are likely to beat Chelsea to the signing of Uruguayan superstar Edinson Cavani. They have already opened talks with Napoli according to the Serie A club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
The Metro reports that negotiations began on Monday and Napoli hope to bring Edin Dzeko to Italy as part of the deal.
City have been monitoring Cavani for months but Chelsea have recently stepped up their interest after it became apparent that their top target Radamel Falcao was considering a move to Monaco.
City determined not to lose out
However, City are determined to avoid a repeat of last summer when they lost out on the signings of Robin van Persie and Eden Hazard to their title rivals. They then had to watch as both players put in performances that earned them PFA Player of the Year nominations.
Both clubs need a consistent goal scorer if they are to challenge Manchester United next season. Demba Ba only scored two of his 15 league goals for Chelsea following his January move from Newcastle. Fernando Torres managed just eight goals in the league while 15 goal Frank Lampard is likely to get less game time next season.
The top scoring Chelsea player was actually Romelu Lukaku who scored 17 league goals while on loan at West Brom. However, the club are likely to bring in a big signing rather than place all their faith in the youngster.
City need a top goal scorer
City only have three players whose Premier League goal tally reached double figures last season. However, Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez could all move on in the summer.
Cavani, who has scored 78 goals in 104 Serie A games over the last three seasons, could be the man to fire them back to the top of the table next season.
De Laurentiis would prefer Cavani to join City as it might involve Dzeko going in the other direction. He sent Napoli Sporting Director Riccardo Bigon to open talks with City. He said: “I told Bigon, ‘Go to City and take the chance to negotiate over Dzeko and see what they are willing to do for Cavani’.”
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