Man Utd: Forlan names who Cavani would thrive alongside
Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani was happy to stay at Old Trafford in the aftermath of Cristiano Ronaldo’s return. However, reports from South America now claim the 34-year-old is looking to leave in January amid interest from Barcelona. The Uruguay international has lost his place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s pecking order and, now, may be on the move.
Manchester United signed Cavani in October last year.
Having originally intended to acquire Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, the Red Devils were ultimately forced to settle for the arrival of a veteran on a free transfer instead.
United had to wait a while for Cavani to get up to speed, especially given how he’d previously gone six months without playing.
But he ended the campaign with 17 goals to his name, with only Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scoring more.
Since then, however, his role at the club has changed.
Solskjaer tends to play with just one centre-forward and, these days, that means Ronaldo getting the nod in the No 9 role.
Man Utd star Edinson Cavani is a Barcelona transfer target (Image: GETTY)
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Cavani has made just two appearances this term, against Wolves and Aston Villa respectively.
And El Grafico in Argentina have claimed the 34-year-old is now ‘thinking about’ leaving the club when the transfer window reopens in January.
It’s claimed Barcelona, who were linked with the forward on deadline day at the start of the month, are in the mix to snap him up.
But Cavani knows a move to the Nou Camp will be difficult due to the La Liga giants’ financial situation.
The coronavirus crisis has caused mayhem over in Catalonia, with Barcelona forced into losing Lionel Messi against their will because of the economics involved.
And while Barcelona would need United to pay off Cavani’s remaining salary, they’re still hopeful a deal can be struck.
Man Utd star Edinson Cavani is team-mates with Cristiano Ronaldo (Image: GETTY)
Speaking last week, meanwhile, Solskjaer insisted Cavani and Ronaldo could play together.
“It’s exciting to see them two together,” he said.
“I'm sure that'll be a good partnership as well, [two players] wanting to be on the end of things.
“We’ve seen some teams dropping deeper against us, not giving us as much space in behind and that’s definitely two boys you’d like to have around the goal when that’s the scenario.
“I can see them two working well together.”
Dimitar Berbatov previously suggested Cavani would be ‘unhappy’ following Ronaldo’s homecoming.
Man Utd star Edinson Cavani is wanted by Barcelona for January (Image: GETTY)
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"It will be interesting to see how Ole keeps the other players happy. He will have to decide how he uses the likes of Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial,” he said.
"This is when managing a talented squad becomes difficult because players will feel hard done by.
"Cavani is probably unhappy. He had a great first season at United, and now he's dropped down the pecking order and lost his number seven shirt.
"I hope Ole has had an honest conversation with Cavani about his plans for the team.
"As a player in this situation, you understand that the manager's job is to pick the best team, but you always want to play and become unhappy when you're left out."