Edinson Cavani is being tipped to head to Atletico Madrid for an “emotional” link-up with Luis Suarez rather than make a move to Manchester United.
The Uruguayan frontman remains a free agent after severing ties with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain. He was not expected to be available for long, but the 2020-21 campaign has opened with Cavani still without a club.
Several landing spots have been mooted for the 33-year-old frontman, with heavyweight sides in England and Spain said to be leading the queue.
Daniel Zicari, who worked with Cavani at Danubio, does not expect that to be a problem, with one prolific South American expected to join another at Wanda Metropolitano.
He told AS: “Here we take it for granted that Cavani will be a new Atleti player. It was a shame that it did not materialise in January.
“It would be very emotional for him to end up with Suarez. They are both from the same city.”
Cavani and Suarez have starred alongside one another at international level and could form a devastating partnership in Madrid. Zicari hopes Diego Simeone will make every effort to turn that potential into reality.
He feels Cavani would thrive with Atletico, having previously been prolific in Italy and Spain with 353 goals at club level across 586 appearances to date.
“He is a great player and Atletico, a great club,” Zicari added. “If he plays as a team, I think he can exceed 20 goals. He is a decisive footballer with a high percentage of goals and chances.
“In addition to contributing many goals, he also has a great way of playing, position on the pitch, he is very positive, he is very supportive in the game.”
If Atletico are unable to formalise their interest in Cavani then it may be that an opportunity does open up at Old Trafford, with Solskjaer yet to get the bodies on board that he desires ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.