Manchester United’s hopes of keeping Edinson Cavani have been handed a boost, with the veteran Uruguayan striker reportedly staying put at Old Trafford.
According to ESPN journalist Moises Llorens, Edinson Cavani has decided to remain at Manchester United, who are set to trigger the one-year option to extend his deal till the summer of 2022. The 34-year-old Uruguayan striker was heavily linked with a move to Boca Juniors.
Edinson Cavani has been a stalwart of European football for several years now, having enjoyed a great deal of success over the past decade and a half, which has included spells at Palermo, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and now, Manchester United. When he arrived at Old Trafford from PSG last summer, he was greeted with his fair share of skeptics.
However, the veteran Uruguayan forward has won over his doubters in a big way, chipping in with a number of important goals over the course of this season. Till date at Manchester United, Cavani has a decent enough return of 12 goals and 5 assists in 33 appearances across all competitions, directly contributing to a goal every 103.5 minutes.
He most recently impressed in Manchester United’s 6-2 rout of AS Roma this week, wherein he scored and assisted two goals apiece. However, Cavani’s future at Old Trafford has been a subject of intense speculation for quite some time now, with widespread reports claiming that he wished to return to South America to be closer to his family.
As a result, there were heavy links with Argentine giants Boca Juniors. Meanwhile, Manchester United, on their part, have been keeping their options open if Cavani chose to leave, especially with question marks popping up around the future of Anthony Martial as well. To that end, the Red Devils have been linked with Rafael Santos Borre, Jonathan David and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, among others.
However, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has publicly asserted that the priority was to keep hold of Cavani, and it seems like Manchester United could be succeeding in that pursuit. As per Moises Llorens, Cavani has decided to stay put at Old Trafford, allowing United to trigger their option to extend his contract by twelve months. In fact, the announcement is set to be made official next week.
Llorens was first to reveal that Cavani was close to joining Manchester United ahead of the deadline day last summer. If he is once again correct in his information, it appears as if Solskjaer’s efforts are set to be rewarded, with Cavani set to remain at Manchester United for another season at the very least.
