Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has told Paris St Germain striker Edinson Cavani he is welcome back at his former club any time before the two sides meet in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Uruguay striker spent three years with Napoli before joining PSG in 2013 in a deal worth a €6 4million, making it the sixth biggest transfer in history at that point.
He has since scored 176 goals in 255 appearances for PSG, but speculation about the 31-year-old’s future in the French capital has been near-constant since the arrival of Neymar in the summer of 2017.
As Cavani prepares to face his former employers, ADL said he would be happy to have him back in the squad, though admitted he might need to accept a pay cut first.
‘Cavani is always in my heart,’ De Laurentiis said on RMC Sport. ‘I brought him from Palermo to Naples. With us, he learned to be a real striker, he always reached 30 goals a season. He represented the club very well.
‘Napoli will always keep the door open. The day that Cavani agrees to lower his salary, and he wants to live with his two children, he is welcome. As soon as he wants, he can come back.’
As prolific as Cavani has been with PSG, he did not claim any of the 10 goals they have scored in their last two matches – 5-0 routs of Lyon and Amiens – and was substituted against OL.
PSG coach Thomas Tuchel admitted Cavani had been a little troubled in recent weeks, but suggested a meeting with Napoli could be just what he needs.
‘After the Lyon match he was a little sad because I made the decision to replace him,’ Tuchel said. ‘I told him things would happen for him because he works hard.
‘He thinks a little bit too much about scoring. Things will happen if he works hard and plays with confidence. This is a special match for him.’