By Chris Wright
“There is no Dana, only Zuul!”
Napoli’s official club radio station, Radio Marte, have announced that Chelsea have got their noses out in front in the race for Edinson Cavani’s signature after becoming the first club to agree a fee with president Aurelio De Laurentiis for the Uruguayan forward.
According to Radio Marte, Chelsea have agreed a €58million/£49.3 million fee for Cavani, slightly less than his buy-out clause which stands at £53million.
The station announced earlier today:
“We have received news in the office from a very reliable source that Napoli have sealed a deal with Chelsea for Cavani’s sale.
“(Manager) Rafa Benitez also gave the all-clear, but before making the move official Napoli want to secure the striker who will replace Il Matador.
“(Napoli president) Aurelio De Laurentiis’ club will pick up around €58 million, a slight discount on the buy-out clause, which is the same situation as Ezequiel Lavezzi to PSG last year.
“The player will earn €8.5 million (£7.2 million) per season plus image rights.”
That’s roughly £140,000-a-week for those struggling with the maths.
Even though Chelsea may have made the first move, the Cavani hunt is far from over, with Real Madrid (the player’s preferred destination if you believe his father), Manchester City and now Manchester United all believed to still be sniffing around and willing to fluff the requisite £50million.
Indeed, for what it’s worth, Cavani’s agent Claudio Anellucci has apparently scotched the reports of an agreement between Napoli and Chelsea this morning, telling Tuttomercatoweb that “there is nothing closed with Chelsea.”
Stay tuned.