Manchester United Transfer News: Potential Edinson Cavani Deal Lacking in Value

Richard Keys has made the claim that a deal is in place for Manchester United to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani this summer.

Writing on his personal blog (h/t Manchester Evening News' David Lynch), Keys states that the Uruguayan attacker would be allowed to leave Parc des Princes for a fee of £80 million:

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I'm told they're [United] going to spend £200m in the summer. On players? How much more will it cost to pay them? Does that figure include  wages? If so, what do they get for half that figure? 

Edison Cavani is a done deal - if they can persuade him to sign. It'll cost £80m to get him out of PSG. But will he want to join a team that might not even be playing Europa Lge football? 

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United's slump in form is no issue that's going to be solved simply by throwing money at it. One could name myriad clubs who have tried the same and failed.

Even by the Red Devils' standards, this is a gargantuan figure, which, as Keys notes, is made all that more expensive when taking wages into account.

Armando Franca/Associated Press

This season, United have found it difficult enough to juggle the expectations of their attacking ranks. An imbalance in formational tactics has meant that, at almost any time, one of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata or Shinji Kagawa is left disappointed with his positioning.

If Cavani were to arrive at Old Trafford without squad space being made available first, it would simply serve to compound the issue further.

At PSG, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's presence through the middle has meant that Cavani has had to line up predominantly on the wing, and unless Rooney or van Persie all of a sudden became willing to make way, it's foreseeable that a similar fate would await the South American in Manchester.

It speaks volumes of Cavani's ability that despite this shift in duties, he's still been able to amass a goal tally of 21 thus far in his maiden season with the Paris giants, per Transfermarkt.

As OptaJean point out, the forward has also experienced the unfamiliar sensation of coming off the bench more regularly, but he's dealt well with the obstacle:

However, one might debate whether Cavani is really of the £80 million standard, which is not so far off the record fee paid by Real Madrid for Gareth Bale last summer.

When United have other areas of the pitch in need of more attention, such a massive outlay in a position that's not even the problem area of their side would be a rash, knee-jerk decision at this stage.

Would it show intent on the club's part? Of course. But as we know, intent doesn't always guarantee the desired end product.