Unai Emery looks to Edinson Cavani as Arnaut Danjuma replacement at Villarreal | OneFootball

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Football Espana

·6 July 2022

Unai Emery looks to Edinson Cavani as Arnaut Danjuma replacement at Villarreal

Article image:Unai Emery looks to Edinson Cavani as Arnaut Danjuma replacement at Villarreal

Much is made of the domino effect in the transfer market, with many clubs waiting on deals to be completed to give them their chips to gamble with.

That appears to be the case in the South of Spain this summer. Villarreal are supposedly operating under the impression that Arnaut Danjuma will move on this summer, with West Ham most closely linked in recent weeks.


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Even though that deal has stalled, the fact Villarreal are still looking at replacements suggests it might not be dead. According to Estadio Deportivo, Villarreal have been in negotiations with Almeria for Umar Sadiq this summer but are yet to come close to the €30m valuation.

Yet Unai Emery has now asked the club to change tack and look to Uruguayan veteran Edinson Cavani as their first choice. The two worked together at Paris Saint-Germain and the transfer fee for Danjuma would give the Yellow Submarine the funds to meet his high salary demands, which have been keeping Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid at bay.

That may open a door to the other suitors in the Sadiq race too. Sevilla are reportedly interested, as are Ajax following the sale of Sebastian Haller to Borussia Dortmund. Whether either are willing to stump up €30m for the forward remains to be seen.

Either way it appears unlikely that a deal will be done by Villarreal for either Cavani or Sadiq unless Danjuma does move. Although it may be a mere acceptance of the situation, Villarreal’s willingness to deal Danjuma after just a season perhaps raises questions about how high they believe his ceiling really is.

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