CHELSEA would be crazy to sign Edinson Cavani this January – for three reasons.
Higuain. Pato. Falcao.
Chelsea are to offer Edinson Cavani an 18-month dealCredit: Reuters
The Blues are ready to offer Uruguayan striker Cavani an 18-month deal, even though he turns 33 on St Valentine’s Day.
He currently earns £200,000 a week at PSG, and will want something similar in West London.
It’s a lot of money for a player clearly past his best. Cavani has been a fantastic striker over the past decade, with 401 goals from 693 games for club and country.
But his golden days are behind him, and Chelsea have had their fingers burned before in very similar situations.
Not once, not twice, but three times.
In January 2019 they paid a hefty £8m fee to take a hefty Gonzalo Higuain, aged 31, on loan from Juventus for six months.
The expectation was huge – like Higuain’s waistline.
Gonzalo Higuain struggled for fitness and form at ChelseaCredit: Reuters
Alexandre Pato scored just one goal in six monthsCredit: Getty – Contributor
The logic was that under his favourite manager Maurizio Sarri he would recapture the form that had seen him smash in 36 goals in a record-breaking season for Napoli.
And when he scored twice against Huddersfield in his second game, it looked like a dream move.
But the Argentinian scored just five goals in 14 Premier League appearances, and failed to live up to his billing as a guaranteed goal machine.
Chelsea turned down the option to sign him for £32m in the summer and sent him back to Turin instead.
In July 2015, Chelsea took Radamel Falcao on a year-long loan deal from Monaco, following a failed spell at Manchester United.
The Colombian managed one goal in 10 games for Chelsea, before packing his bags back to the Riviera.
And in January 2016, Chelsea took a punt on Brazilian striker Pato, taking him on loan from Corinthians.
The former AC Milan man however struggled for fitness and form.
Radamel Falcao was another flop at ChelseaCredit: PA:Press Association
Under interim manager Guus Hiddink, he made just two first-team appearances, scoring just once.
The 26-year-old left in the summer, after the most underwhelming of times in London.
Three ageing South American strikers signed in a panic. Three flops.
Just SEVEN goals between them.
The figures alone suggest another move for an expensive star with a big reputation is unlikely to be a success.
But perhaps even more so in Chelsea’s exciting young side.
Frank Lampard could do with some competition for Tammy Abraham up front, to give them a second option, or fight for his place.
Someone with a bit more experience makes sense. But Cavani, aged nearly 33, on a huge salary?
It feels like Chelsea are in danger of making the same mistake for a fourth time.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
