Chelsea to replace Drogba with Edinson Cavani
Chelsea are already planning for life after Didier Drogba according to reports from West London, by making Edinson Cavani their top striking target for next season.
Despite a very good start by the Ivorian, he has failed to light up the Premiership this season and talk of a move back to Marseille has not been kept secret.
With Drogba now approaching 33 years of age, the Chelsea may feel that it is time for him to move on and with the likes of new £50m man Fernando Torres having just arrived, they see Cavani as the perfect youngster to partner the Spaniard up front.
However, whilst Ancelotti may not succumb to the pressure of playing two strikers up front is one matter, another is whether the Italian will have a job at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
Another barrier for the West London club is that Cavani is currently only on loan at Napoli from Palermo with the Serie A club already in a position of a first option for a permanent deal at £15m. Should Napoli decide to pay the £15m and keep Cavani on a permanent contract it might make sense to immediately sell him on at a steady profit.
The striker has already hit 20 goals in 26 appearances for Napoli since his loan move and it would be madness for a club who are currently in 3rd position not keep a player of his ability in the hope of mounting a better challenge next year. (Napoli are currently 8 points off the pace in third).
At 24 years of age Cavani has the years ahead of him but many are suggesting that he will fail to deliver on the larger stages of football as so many youngsters do these days. Whether a big bid is forthcoming from Chelsea during the summer remains to be seen but with loan and first option deals tied in, one can assume it will much more complicated to sign the Uruguayan that it was in signing Torres.
