Chelsea Transfer News: Blues Must Make Serious Push for Edinson Cavani

Chelsea needs a reliable striker capable of carrying the attack on his shoulders when the going gets tough. It's a void they have tried to fill multiple times in recent years with limited success. Edinson Cavani would finally provide the consistency the Blues need.

Cavani is a coveted transfer target after his third straight impressive season with Napoli in Serie A. The transfer talk is just starting to heat up as clubs around Europe complete their campaigns, and it appears Chelsea are trying to get a jump on the competition.

Tancredi Palmeri of CNN passes along an Italian report that states Chelsea made direct contact with Napoli about a potential Cavani deal.

Although there's obviously a major difference between initial contact and a done deal, the Blues are wise to get involved early before clubs start lining up to check in on the striker's status. He figures to be a hot commodity in the coming weeks.

Premier League rival Manchester City and La Liga giant Real Madrid are among the other sides being linked to Cavani, according to ESPN. In the same report, the Uruguayan international didn't sound overly concerned about all the talk.

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"Real Madrid, Chelsea and [Manchester] City are interested in me? I just think about Napoli," he told Ovacion Digital.

"If an important offer were to come in, I will talk with president De Laurentiis.

"I'm fine in Italy, I have grown as a man there and as a player with the Serie A experience."

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Being involved in transfer discussions with any player also being tracked by Manchester City and Real Madrid means it won't be a cheap endeavor. Yet, Chelsea need to solve their striker issues and elite players at the position are always costly.

Cavani netted 36 goals in 41 matches across Serie A and Europa League play this season. He finished the season in terrific form, scoring seven times over the final five matches. It's that type of production that's attracted some of Europe's biggest clubs.

Throughout his career, he's displayed a great finishing touch and an endless motor. It wasn't until the last couple of seasons with Napoli that he finally put everything together and became a complete striker. He's ready to play in any of the top leagues, including the EPL.

For Chelsea, Fernando Torres has proven far too inconsistent to be relied on to lead an attack and midseason addition Demba Ba cooled off after a quick start with the club.

If the Blues want to seriously challenge Manchester United for the league title or make another deep run in the Champions League, they need somebody else atop the formation. Cavani would be the perfect player for the spot.

Even though it's no guarantee Chelsea would be able to beat out the other clubs in a bidding war for Cavani, he's worth the maximum possible effort.