PSG Transfer News: Latest on Edinson Cavani's January Exit Rumours

Transfer rumours involving Paris Saint-Germain star Edinson Cavani continue to swirl, and former Napoli director Pierpaolo Marino has fuelled the flames, claiming the Uruguayan wants to return to Naples.

Speaking to PiuEnne (h/t Calciomercato.com), Marino made the claims, but he also added he doesn't believe PSG would sell easily:

"I think Cavani really wants to return to Naples.

"The biggest obstacle, however, is Psg. They don't want to sell him but Cavani would take a pay cut for Napoli, it won't be difficult for Napoli to reach an agreement with Cavani."

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

The rumour mill has gone overboard since Cavani and Neymar had a public dust-up over who should take a penalty against Lyon, with numerous wild claims left and right.

Per Tuttomercatoweb (h/t James Dickenson of the Daily Express), Everton have already contacted the Ligue 1 giants, while Calciomercato.com credit Chelsea with an interest―even though the Blues spent big money on Alvaro Morata this summer. Metro's Simon Rice added Liverpool and Arsenal for good measure.

None of the speculation seems likely to come to fruition, and Cavani has already dismissed reports of a rift multiple times, per Mediaset Premium (h/t Goal.com). That won't stop the rumours from surfacing, however.

Sports writer Adam Joseph believes the penalty incident was way overblown, noting there wasn't a similar incident in the lopsided win over Bordeaux:

"

Paris Saint Germain have a penalty, Neymar is taking it.. he scored. Cavani happily celebrated. Almost as if Twitter went overboard w/ that.

— Adam Joseph (@AdamJosephSport) September 30, 2017"

Cavani has started the 2017-18 season in fantastic form and also enjoyed a great 2016-17 campaign. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic no longer pushing him into the role of a winger, the former Napoli man has rediscovered the shooting boots that made him an elite player in Italy.

Here's a look at his stats, per Squawka Football:

Les Parisiens are unlikely to sell their star forward unless there are more incidents with Neymar and the two can't find a way to coexist. If that happens, Napoli would be considered a likely destination―providing the Italians can come up with a suitable transfer fee.

The Partenopei don't have a need for another striker, with Dries Mertens scoring at a fantastic rate, but if the Belgian were to move to a bigger club, El Matador could be a great replacement.

Other top clubs will likely also get involved, and the riches of the Premier League could persuade Cavani to try his luck in a new competition.

He's more likely to stay with PSG for the foreseeable future, however, especially if he keeps scoring at a high rate.