Chelsea have entered the race to sign Edinson Cavani after the striker told Paris St-Germain he wanted to leave.

But Cavani’s wages, which currently stand at £8.5million-a-year after tax, are likely to provide a major stumbling block for Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho, who is a big fan of the player.

Marcus Rashford’s injury could also see Manchester United consider a move, but Chelsea are currently providing the strongest competition to Atletico who have had one bid rejected.

Atlético were in pole position to sign him, either this month or in the summer, and Chelsea are now attempting to steal a march.

Although a deal to sign Cavani would be expensive, Chelsea could offset the cost against the proposed sale of Olivier Giroud to Inter Milan and the fact the club did not spend anything on transfers last summer because of their Fifa ban. Also, Victor Moses is joining Inter on loan with a view to a permanent move.

Frank Lampard on Monday revealed his admiration of Cavani and Telegraph Sport understands the club have made inquiries about a deal this month.

The Chelsea head coach said: “He is a great player, I played against him and I always loved his mentality and attitude, and obviously his goalscoring record speaks for itself. I’m not absolutely aware of what the situation is, so we’ll see. He’s an experienced player, but so are many others out there.