Barcelona Transfer News: PSG Offered Liverpool Edinson Cavani for Luis Suarez

Paris Saint-Germain reportedly offered Liverpool Edinson Cavani in a part-exchange deal for Luis Suarez before the latter secured a move to Barcelona.

Such claims come from France Football magazine (h/t Foot01.com and Ben Green of 101 Great Goals). Green's translation suggestions "a significant part" of PSG's offer was Cavani, who continues to endure a torrid time at the Parc des Princes.

An image of the magazine in question was posted by Arnaud Tulipier, writer for France Football:

Suarez is four days away from completing his four-month ban, imposed after he bit Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup. He is set to make his competitive debut in the Clasico fixture with Real Madrid on Saturday, the showcase tie of the Spanish football calendar.

It's interesting to think how differently things could have turned out. While talkSport reported that Suarez always preferred Barcelona due to his wife's family living in the city, his appearance in Ligue 1 could have consolidated PSG's position as an emerging power in European football.

Suarez recently suggested he is already looking forward to a long and prosperous future at the Camp Nou. "If I had the chance to retire at Barça, that would be a perfect way to cap my career," he told Marca.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Laurent Blanc has struggled to fit Cavani into his side and often deploys the powerful forward out wide. This overlooks his best attributes—being able to provide a physical presence in and around the box—and allows Zlatan Ibrahimovic the unchallenged opportunity to continue shining whenever he plays.

Football writers Andy Scott and Ben Lyttleton summed up Cavani's misfortunes during the recent match with Lens (in which he played through the centre):

Jonathan Johnson of ESPN FC reported quotes from Blanc which suggest more trouble could be on the horizon:

Would Blanc have pushed Suarez to the flank? It's a question that is also relevant to Luis Enrique at Barcelona. The Uruguayan striker is likely to interchange with Neymar and Lionel Messi, with the latter remaining the most central of the three.

Suarez naturally gravitated to the left during his 31-goal haul for Liverpool last season and needs to be able to satisfy his energy without losing the chance to score.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Barca have scored 22 unanswered La Liga goals in eight games without Suarez this season, per WhoScored.com. He will need to work avidly to instantly fit into Enrique's line-up—which has more grit to it than Gerardo Martino's previous team—and can use Neymar as an example of how to quickly slot into the Barcelona ethos.

A Suarez-Ibrahimovic partnership could have been one of football's most mouthwatering strike forces. Cavani has the physicality to prove himself in the Premier League and would have likely stopped Brendan Rodgers from taking a punt on Mario Balotelli, highlighting the small margins in which big differences can be made.

Certainly a part-exchange between Cavani and Suarez would have initiated a tumble effect elsewhere.

Barcelona would have found a new forward and perhaps had four months' service out of him already, while Suarez would be gearing up for an Oct. 25 clash with Bordeaux rather than a trip to the Bernabeu.

Barcelona supporters will undoubtedly find all of this inconsequential when he steps onto the pitch, particularly if he nets against Madrid.