Manchester United are willing to let Edinson Cavani leave the club amid interest from Barcelona, reports say. The Uruguay international is a popular figure at Old Trafford. But injuries, and the Hollywood homecoming of Cristiano Ronaldo, have prevented him from kicking on during his second season at the club.
Manchester United signed Cavani on a free transfer last year after missing out on Jadon Sancho.
While it took the Uruguayan a little while to find the net, the 34-year-old impressed by ending the campaign with 17 goals to his name across all competitions.
So far this term, however, Cavani has struggled.
Injuries have restricted him to just five Premier League appearances, while Ronaldo’s return from Juventus has also complicated matters.
Barcelona are now lurking, especially with Sergio Aguero’s imminent retirement poised to leave them short up top.
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Should the Uruguayan leave, United are likely to wait until the end of the campaign before replacing him.
Erling Haaland is set to be pursued, though signing the Borussia Dortmund star will be easier said than done.
United have even been linked with Kylian Mbappe, even if Real Madrid are currently the frontrunners for the Paris Saint-Germain star.
And Alexander Isak would be another good replacement, with the Swede bouncing back in recent years after failing to make the grade at Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking before United’s match against Brentford was called off, meanwhile, Ralf Rangnick claimed Cavani was nearing full fitness.
“I would wait to see how the players have recovered on Sunday or Monday,” said the 63-year-old.
“Sunday, they will train with the players that haven’t played or only played a couple of minutes today [Saturday].
“I saw the Brentford game on Friday and it’s a very high-intensity team, more physical than Norwich played today.
“We need to be aware and prepared for that different level of intensity. We have to wait and see.
“A few players are available again, I think Luke Shaw, who was in the squad today, Wan-Bissaka be available again on Tuesday, and even Edi [Cavani] might be an option, so we have to wait and see. It’s too early.”
Cavani has had a glittering career so far.
He sparkled for Palermo, spending four years with the Serie A giants before moving to Napoli in the summer of 2010.
Cavani then scaled new heights with the Serie A titans, finding the net 104 times from 138 appearances during his three years with the club.
After that, the veteran moved to PSG in 2013 – where he went on to bag 200 goals from 301 appearances.
And he’s struck 18 times for United during his two years in England so far.