When this summer transfer window ends, Chelsea are going to have their big name striker, hoping for Edinson Cavani, but if that doesn’t work out, they’ll “settle” for Robert Lewandowski.
According to A Bola, Lewandowski has become somewhat of a contingency plan for Chelsea, who like many others, started off this summer thinking about Falcao and since then moving on to Edinson Cavani.
Jose Mourinho badly wants his complete striker. The Portuguese manager complained more than once during his Real Madrid tenure that he isn’t satisfied with either Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, who only if combined would create the perfect striker. For him, Cavani is one of these complete forwards he so badly wants on his team, and Lewandowski is of the same mold, after getting a first hand taste of his abilities in the Champions League this past season.
Cavani is expensive; very expensive. His release clause is about €63 million, but Napoli will agree to slightly less than that. The question is how many teams are in for the forward, who has one more match to play in the Confederations Cup with Uruguay (a third place tie with Italy) before he comes back to Europe to fully immerse himself in the transfer news.
Chelsea aren’t the only team trying to sign him – Manchester City looked to be on his trail but withdrew due to the high price. Real Madrid are as usual linked to every prominent player slightly available, and according to the Napoli brass, Cavani prefers playing in Madrid. Chelsea might be able to offer him more money, and the allure of the Premier League which works for certain players.
But if Cavani isn’t the one who arrives, Lewandowki will be pursued. Dortmund are willing to sell to anyone who isn’t Bayern Munich, but the problem is Lewandowski himself, who seems to be convinced that his market value will be at its greatest if he signs with Bayern Munich.
However, Chelsea are also an Adidas club, and while the competition for publicity in the Premier League might be greater than it is in Germany and Poland, the salary he might get and the greater exposure via the Premier League might eventually convince him to leave Dortmund for someone other than Bayern, who Dortmund aren’t willing to sell to.
In terms of goal production, Cavani has been the slightly more productive scorer over the last couple of seasons, but Lewandowski is more of a classic number 9 that Mourinho is looking for. He’s also a tad younger, and will come in for less money. Even if he is the ‘B’ plan as some are suggesting, Chelsea might be better off with the Polish striker instead of the Uruguayan.