Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Club Needs Better Backup Plans for Edinson Cavani

No matter how certain you are that something will get done, it is always smart to have backup plans. Chelsea have that with multiple transfer targets going forward, but they need to find better options.

It is no secret that the club is going after a forward this summer to help compete offensively with the top clubs in the English Premier League and Europe. Last season, the team's leading scorers in league play were midfielders Frank Lampard and Juan Mata.

While Fernando Torres and Demba Ba each have talent, they both struggled against EPL competition and should be replaced with more reliable goalscorers.

As a result, Colin Mafham of The Express identified three strikers that Jose Mourinho is going after in his first year back with the club:

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The new boss is hoping to top the record £50 million fee owner Roman Abramovich paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres on one of three top striker targets.

Chelsea are expected to offer Napoli a reported £50 million-plus for their first choice, Uruguyan striker Edinson Cavani, with whom they are understood to have already agreed personal terms.

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Mafham then lists Hulk and Robert Lewandowski as the second and third choice, respectively.

As of now, it appears as though Cavani is the most likely of the three to end up with the Blues this summer. He has reportedly agreed to a deal, and the club is clearly ready to spend a lot of money to complete a transfer.

However, there are other clubs involved in this race. According to Nadia Carminati of Sky Sports, Paris Saint-Germain are also negotiating to bring the talented forward to France. The report also states that PSG have offered a contract to Cavani worth £8.6 million per year.

Manchester City are keeping an eye on the situation as well. These competing clubs have plenty of money to spend and could end up outbidding Chelsea for the striker's services.

For this reason, it is smart to have contingency plans. However, neither of those options are safe either.

Lewandowski has his heart set on playing for Bayern Munich, and even his manager at Borussia Dortmund believes he will go there after next season, according to John Drayton of the Daily Mail.

Until then, he will likely remain with his current club throughout the season until his contract expires in the summer of 2014. While he might be a favorite of Mourinho, the chances of bringing him to Chelsea are unlikely.

This leaves only Hulk as a top-flight option for next year. Unfortunately, the forward has seen a huge drop-off over the past year since leaving FC Porto for Zenit St. Petersburg. After scoring 20 goals in 32 matches during the 2011-12 season, he only managed four goals in 14 matches with the Russian club.

Even in Brazil's successful run at the Confederations Cup, Hulk was overshadowed by teammates Neymar, Fred and Paulinho.

Of course, this has not changed his price tag, which still rates him among the best offensive players in the world. According to Alejandro Alcazar of the Spanish magazine Sport, Hulk is only available for about £40 million.

While one could expect the number to go down with the player desperately trying to leave, Alcazar reports that Real Madrid have entered the race and are also in need of a forward, which will keep the number high.

Chelsea should not waste this much money on a risky transfer like this one.

Obviously, finalizing a deal with Cavani would be the ideal scenario for the English club. However, there is no guarantee it will be completed, and the other options are even worse.

The club must start looking at other targets that could be safer moves in case the worst does happen.

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