MANCHESTER UNITED can “totally rely” on Edinson Cavani – according to his former boss at PSG Thomas Tuchel.
The striker will miss out on making his Red Devils debut against his former side after revealing to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he didn’t feel ready to play.
Tuchel enjoyed multiple seasons of Cavani’s goalscoring prowess while PSG bossCredit: AP:Associated Press
Cavani will continue to train and gain fitness while his team-mates head to ParisCredit: Getty Images – Getty
But Tuchel did not know that when he spoke highly of his former hitman, who left the club in the summer after seven successful years.
The Uruguayan joined United on deadline day but was unable to make his debut against Newcastle as he was quarantining for 14 days under coronavirus guidelines.
And due to a lack of readiness, he will also not feature against Paris Saint-Germain either.
Nonetheless, Tuchel rates the 33-year-old highly and believes he will bring tenacity and dependability to the Manchester side.
He said in a pre-match press conference: “He is a polite person. Hard, hard worker. He will be there for every training [session], first minute until last minute.
“Every game, first second until last second. You can totally rely on him.
“If you played for so long in a club like ours and if you have such a connection with the fans, it’s clear that you have character and deserve all this appreciation.
Cavani was pictured joking around with Paul Pogba and other United players during his first first-team training sessionCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“Hopefully he will show – not tomorrow, but from Wednesday on – he can convince all of you, I have nothing against that.
“But tomorrow it is not necessary to prove me right.”
Tuchel will no longer need to fear Cavani’s presence with the player not travelling with the rest of the United squad.
Boss Solskjaer told RMC Sport: “We wanted him to be there too, but he went without playing for a long time.
“We thought it was better for him to continue training. To better prepare.
“Edi knows what he wants and what he needs. He didn’t feel ready enough.”
Captain Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood, Jesse Lingard and Eric Bailly will also not feature against PSG.
French fans will miss an opportunity to welcome a club icon back to the Parc des Princes.
In his long spell there, he notched up a tremendous scoring record which endeared him to supporters.
In 200 appearances, he netted 138 goals.
This includes an extraordinary 35 goals in 36 Ligue 1 appearances in the 16/17 season, and then 28 in 32 in the following campaign.
Edinson Cavani joins Man Utd in training for the first time
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
