Man City line up clinical Cavani with £45m bid... and he could replace Balotelli at Etihad



Manchester City are lining up a potential replacement for controversial striker Mario Balotelli in the form of Edinson Cavani.

With Balotelli’s erratic form and off-pitch antics beginning to wear thin with the hierarchy at Manchester City, sporting director Txiki Begiristain is ready to replace the Italian.

Napoli striker Cavani, who played a key role in dumping City out of last season’s Champions League, has been a long-term target for manager Roberto Mancini.

Clinical: Edinson Cavani is being lined up at Manchester City

According to the Sunday People, Begiristain has already made a £45million bid for the clinical Uruguayan.

Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis stated in December that he has already rejected a huge bid from the champions for Cavani.

He said: 'Cavani is a warrior who embodies all that’s best of the Napoli spirit and our supporters. It is because of this that I turned down an offer of 55 million euros.'

Although the hierarchy in Naples are determined to cling onto their striker, the 25-year-old would relish the opportunity to try his hand on England’s shores.

He said: 'I know that there has been interest from Premier League teams. I know I would be a success in the Premier League – and it is an exciting prospect.'

But City would likely have to ship out a striker to bankroll the signing of Cavani, who has scored 20 goals already this season in Italy.

Balotelli is the obvious candidate. Not only did the 22-year-old have a public scrap with Mancini last week in training, but he has been in poor form this season, scoring only once in the Premier League so far.

Mancini and Balotelli appeared to have buried the hatchet yesterday though. The striker was grinning with his manager before being sent on to replace Edin Dzeko in the 70th minute against Watford in the FA Cup.

He took little time to make a mark, firing hard at Watford's Jonathan Bond, who parried into the path of debutant Marcos Lopes, who in turn tucked the ball home to wrap up the tie at 3-0.

Back in the mix: Mario Balotelli (right) played in City's 3-0 win over Watford yesterday