Edinson Cavani has been at Paris Saint-Germain for three years, having joined from Italian team Napoli in 2013. The Uruguayan striker moved for a fee of around £50 million and there was huge expectation on his shoulders at the Parc des Princes.
Cavani scored 29 goals for Napoli in Serie A during the 2012/13 season, which saw him finish as top goal scorer. This was enough for PSG to take him to France, for what was the sixth highest transfer fee in history. During his first season in Paris, Cavani scored a total of 25 goals in 43 games, with 16 of those goals coming in Ligue 1. However, there was one man way ahead of Cavani in the Ligue 1 top goal scorers chart and that man was Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede scored 26 goals in the league, leaving Cavani 10 goals behind.
The following season, Cavani netted 31 goals in all competitions, beating his tally of the previous season, with 18 of those coming in Ligue 1. However, he again failed to finish as top goal scorer in France, as that honour went to Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, who finished 9 goals ahead of the Uruguayan. Furthermore, Cavani was again pushed out by Ibrahimovic, who finished the league season with 19 goals.
By now, it was becoming apparent Ibrahimovic was the main man at PSG, he would always start as the central striker when fit and this meant Cavani would be pushed out wide. Again, Cavani improved his goal scoring record in Ligue 1, finishing with 19 goals but it was the same old story, as both Lacazette and Ibrahimovic finished above him in the Ligue 1 top goal scorers chart. In fact, Ibrahimovic finished with double the amount of goals of Cavani in the league, which is quite remarkable.
Two things happened in the summer of 2016, which must have been music to the ears of Cavani. Both manager, Laurent Blanc and Ibrahimovic would be leaving the club. Would Cavani finally get a chance of playing in his preferred role as central striker under new boss, Unai Emery?
The answer was yes and Cavani has taken full advantage. However, the striker has been guilty of some glaring misses this season, of that there is no doubt. A recent miss, a few yards out from goal against bitter rivals Marseille is perhaps the pick of the bunch, yet Cavani has not let that stop him from getting in good positions and having chances. The result, has been 10 goals in Ligue 1 in ten games played, and leaves Cavani on track to match Ibrahimovic’s impressive tally of 38 from last season.
Having joined the club as manager in the summer, Emery did not sign a big-name striker and instead showed confidence in Cavani, which is exactly what the striker required. Having netted the winner against Lille to seal a 1-0 win for PSG in their most recent game on Friday night, Cavani has won several points for his team this season. PSG started the season slowly but are moving into position to compete for the title again and the only way they will win it, is if Cavani continues to score goals.
Cavani has stepped out from behind the shadow of Ibrahimovic, to become the main man at PSG and at 29 years of age, it’s about time he started to deliver the goods. Can he take PSG to Ligue 1 glory and perhaps do something Ibrahimovic could not and take the club to the Champions League final?