Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain could each offload an unhappy player onto each other in order to improve the efficiency of their attacks.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s criticism of Eden Hazard has led to reports in both the UK and France suggesting that the Belgian winger could be sent to Paris Saint-Germain as part of a deal to sign the Ligue 1 club’s striker Edinson Cavani.
When Hazard suggested that Chelsea weren’t set up to play football after the club were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Atletico Madrid, Mourinho reacted strongly, questioning his player’s mentality.
“When the comments come from a player like Eden it’s normal because he’s not the kind of player to sacrifice himself for the team,” said Mourinho to the BBC.
“He’s not mentally ready to look to his left-back and leave his life for him.
“Normally you get these kind of comments from players like him, from players that can’t resolve a problem like we had with the first goal.
“If you see Atletico’s first goal, you completely understand where the mistake was and why we conceded that goal.”
“I’m not happy. I’ve tried to improve him all season.”
While Hazard has yet to react publicly to Mourinho’s retort, the comments are not likely to have gone down well with Chelsea’s best attacking player, who leads the Blues in terms of both goals and assists this season.
Mourinho does have designs on improving his attacking options, however.
“We are going to do, I would say, a couple of critical signings,” he told Sky Sports.
“Is a striker a target for us? Yes.”
With PSG having made little secret of their interest in Hazard, l’Equipe suggest their striker Edinson Cavani could be sent to Stamford Bridge in exchange.
L'Equipe: Mourinho's Hazard criticism paving way for potential swap deal w/ Cavani. CFC valuing Eden at €61m. Hypothetical at moment
— Ben Lyttleton (@benlyt) May 3, 2014
The story is echoed by the Daily Star, Eurosport and the Daily Express.
Cavani has been forced to play on the right wing for the majority of the season thanks to the glorious form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, but despite his positional switch, he is the second highest scorer in Ligue 1 with 16 goals.
His work rate and impressive finishing could make him a superb signing for Chelsea – but whether they are willing to part with their prize asset in exchange remains in doubt.
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