Chelsea Transfer News: Cavani, Lewandowski, Jovetic And Van Ginkel Linked To The Blues

The race to sign Napoli’s Edinson Cavani is intensifying with Real Madrid joining Chelsea and Manchester City in the hunt for the prolific Uruguayan striker. Spanish publication AS has reported that Madrid met with representatives of Cavani on Monday and are still hopeful of completing his signing. The meeting had been delayed by two weeks due to Jose Mourinho’s exit and subsequent move to Chelsea.

While on international duty this week, Cavani has been discussing his future and said that he would welcome the opportunity to work under either Mourinho or new Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. However, the 26-year-old does not sound so positive about a move to La Liga.

"I don't know if Spanish football suits me," he said, according to Sky Sports. "Football there is wonderful as everyone knows, you have more freedom, but I don't know what will happen."

All interested parties in Cavani, while beating off the competition, will also have to deal with the player’s €63 million (£53.6m) buyout clause, which Napoli insist will have to be met for him to leave. That could lead to Chelsea turning their attentions elsewhere and that may be toward Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski. The striker had appeared set for a move to Bayern Munich, before Dortmund came out insisting that he will not be sold to their rivals this summer.

While Lewandowski still harbors hopes of Dortmund changing their mind and could also decide to sit out the final year of his contract before joining Bavarians in 12 months’ time, he could also be sold to the Premier League this summer. Manchester United and Manchester City have both been linked, but Chelsea would also likely express an interest. Indeed, citing stories from Poland, the Guardian reports that Lewandowski’s agent, Cezary Kucharski, will be in London on Friday, potentially to discuss a move.

However, the Guardian suggests that Chelsea could be about to conclude a deal for Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic. The Montenegrin has also been in high demand in recent weeks, with Juventus and Arsenal thought to be leading the chase for his signature. Mourinho appears to have made signing the talented 23-year-old a priority and a deal could soon go through for £25 million.

Chelsea are also pursuing a deal for Vitesse Arnhem midfielder Marco van Ginkel, according to the player’s agent. The midfielder is currently impressing at the European Under-21 Championship and the Blues will face competition for the 20-year-old’s signature, with Ajax also keen.

“Chelsea are interested, we don't deny it,” Karl Jansen said, according to Sky Sports. "But there are more clubs. Ajax had made official contact with Vitesse, but they don't want to talk with them. The situation is that we wait until after the European Championship and then will look for the best step. Marco still has two years under contract at the GelreDome, so we don't know if he will leave Arnhem but there isn't an agreement right now."

Dutch publication De Telegraaf claims that talks with Chelsea are even more advanced, with an agreement reached for an €8.5 million (£7.2m) fee.

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