Gianluigi Buffon Feels Edinson Cavani Will Stay at PSG Amid Transfer Rumours

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has dismissed speculation linking his team-mate Edinson Cavani with an exit in the midseason window. 

There have been rumours linking Cavani with a return to Napoli recently, where he enjoyed three seasons and remains popular among supporters.

However, Buffon has said that while he often talks about Serie A football with the PSG striker, Cavani's ambitions of winning the biggest prize in club football will keep him at the Parc des Princes for a while yet, per Italia 1's Tiki-Taka show (h/t Ryan Benson of Goal).

"He is very close to Napoli for the love of the Neapolitan people. He is not immune [to the interest Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis], but I think that, at the moment, PSG gives him more of a chance to go to the end in the Champions League.

"Not that Napoli doesn't have a chance, but I think Cavani will prefer to try it with us until June." 

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Cavani joined PSG in 2013 and has been a regular starter in the team since, operating in a variety of roles.

When Zlatan Ibrahimovic was at the club he played out on the right flank, while he now tends to lead the line, with PSG's record signings Neymar and Kylian Mbappe either side of him.

PSG have enjoyed a rapid start to the campaign, with their 2-2 draw against Bordeaux on Sunday the first time they've failed to win in Ligue 1 in 2018-19.

Cavani was an unused substitute in that game despite an injury to Neymar during the match, and Jonathan Johnson of ESPN FC said it was strange Thomas Tuchel didn't turn to the Uruguayan: 

While the end of PSG's perfect league run will likely not have any impact on their charge towards the title, the decision not to turn to Cavani will only fuel recent links with a possible transfer back to Italy.

Speaking after Napoli and PSG met in the Champions League earlier in the campaign, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis told Corriere dello Sport (h/t Calciomercato) the door would be open for Cavani to come back to the San Paolo.

But that doesn't appear to be on the cards, according to Buffon, and Tuchel would surely not want to lose such a productive footballer. While Neymar and Mbappe often get the headlines, Cavani is potent in the French top flight: 

A January sale would seemingly make little sense for PSG, although a big decision may have to be made on Cavani's future at the end of the season if there is interest. 

In Mbappe, PSG have a player with the potential to be an exhilarating centre-forward, and if Cavani was to move on he could be drafted into a central berth from the right flank. Given Cavani turns 32 in February, the Ligue 1 giants may also start to wonder just how long he has left at the top level.