Napoli stand between Chelsea and a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and it's their main man Edinson Cavani who provides the biggest threat to Andre Villas Boas' side.
The Uruguayan striker has shown himself to be Napoli’s star man, with four goals in six Champions League games this season.
Since his move from Palermo in August 2010, Cavani has been idolised by Napoli’s fans scoring 41 goals in 52 starts in Serie A which has helped the club, who were bankrupt and in Serie C in 2005, qualify for Europe’s elite competition and then reach the last-16.
The one thing Napoli fans will not want to hear is that Cavani’s form over the past two seasons has very much put him on the radar of Europe’s biggest teams.
Strong interest from abroad along with Napoli currently sixth in Serie A, and therefore out of the Champions League places, means this summer may be Cavani’s time to move on and test himself at the very top of the game.
The 25-year-old has been linked with the obvious clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea with a fee of around £40 million being muted as the bare minimum necessary to prize Cavani away from the San Paolo.
Indeed during the press conference before the first leg of the last 16 tie between Napoli and Chelsea, Andre Villas Boas described Cavani as ‘an amazing player’.
The Uruguayan goes into that game in great form having scored twice in Napoli’s 3-0 win at Fiorentina on Friday night which were his 19th and 20th goals of the season.
When you consider Cavani’s goalscoring record it’s important to acknowledge the defensive strength of Serie A, which is widely thought of as the most difficult league in Europe to score goals in.
Meanwhile, Cavani's goalscoring exploits against supposed top sides has further enhanced his reputation. Indeed this season he has a hat-trick against league leaders AC Milan to his name, as well as three goals in two Champions League group games against Manchester City. Plus a hat-trick against Juventus in the 2010-11 season.
He also has international pedigree with ten goals in 36 caps and a Copa America winners medal in his collection.
Should Cavani continue this form, it will only be a matter of time until he moves on to a side that is consistently challenging for honours.
A player of Cavani’s talent should be left counting medals at the end of his career and a move in the summer transfer window may well present him with the best opportunity to join a title winning side.
But Chelsea, and Villas Boas in particular, will just be hoping Cavani doesn’t add to his growing reputation over the two legs of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Images from Action Images.com
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