You can’t doubt Edinson Cavani’s goalscoring ability.

Since his arrival at PSG in 2013, the Uruguayan has banged in 176 goals in 252 appearances. This term he’s grabbed five Ligue 1 strikes in seven games. He’s the French club’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Yet I think it could be the ideal time for PSG to cash in on El Matador.

Teams across Europe would be happy to shell out for his goalscoring talents. Real Madrid and Chelsea are two major clubs that could do with a prolific number nine.

A return to Napoli could also be on the cards. The Partenopei’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has stated that Cavani would be welcomed back to Naples with open arms:

 “Cavani is great,”

“It depends only on him. The doors of Napoli are open to him.”

Why would I dump Edinson if I were PSG?

Well there are a few reasons.

The striker has a tetchy relationship with world record signing Neymar. The two have had a few arguments on the field of play. It’s also been speculated that the forward has also got a strained relationship with PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel.

The striker is going to be turning thirty-two years old early next year and his contract expires in 2020. So to get a premium fee for the forward, it would make sense for Les Parisiens to sell in the next window. If the French side have any issues regarding FFP then selling Cavani at a big fee could help in that department.

Then there’s Cavani’s form in the bigger games. While he is indeed prolific, it can take him a few chances before he get’s one beyond the opposition goalkeeper and that can be a problem in the vital encounters, when you’re no afforded a lot of chances. So far this season PSG’s toughest games have come against Lyon, Liverpool and Edinson’s former side Napoli with El Matador failing to score in any of those important fixtures.

You compare that with the form of World Cup winning attacker Kylian Mbappe, who scored five goals in those three games, and it’s not great.

The teenager has found himself out on the right-hand side this term and even with that he’s still scored ten goals in seven Ligue 1 appearances.

For me, Tuchel has to seriously think about playing Mbappe through the middle to really test opposition defences and especially in the bigger games. As we already know the teenager has no issues when it comes to grabbing goals in high pressured encounters, including a strike in this summer’s World Cup final.

The youngster has the pace to devastate defences, the power to shrug off challenges, the determination to get there first, the composure to take chances, he’s decent in the air and has the confidence to step up when it really matters.

How long do you want to keep him on the right wing? In reality, he’s going to be more prolific and cause more havoc when he’s allowed to prove himself by playing through the middle.

Say the Ligue 1 champs drop Cavani; they could then have Mbappe as the number nine, Neymar playing in the whole behind him, have recently committed Angel Di Maria on the left-flank and German attacker Julian Draxler out on the right. Then have Timothy Weah as your back-up striker.

PSG could then sell Edinson Cavani and bring in a new forward. They’ve been heavily linked with a move for Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez, although it might be an idea if they bring in a younger alternative. I’d also get rid of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, I still have no idea how he ended up at Parc des Princes.

I think if PSG are going to start seriously challenging Europe’s top teams, then they need to get the absolute most out of their top talent and that, for me, is Kylian Mbappe. Ultimately that might mean selling off Edinson Cavani and allowing Mbappe the freedom to play through the centre!

Posted on October 31st, 2018 by scott
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