Edinson Cavani
Edinson Cavani Reuters

Manchester United are closing in on a deal with Paris Saint-Germain for Edinson Cavani, according to the Metro.

The Red Devils are reportedly willing to spend up to £80m for the signature of the Uruguayan. United are eying Cavani as replacement for Robin van Persie, who has been linked with a move out of the club.

The striker made the transition from Napoli to Paris last season but has been disconcerted by the lack of first team opportunities, with Zlatan Ibrahimovich being preferred for the central role over the South American.

However, the 27-year-old scored 14 goals in only 23 appearances and is likely to be an even bigger hit if he is given more opportunities.

It is now upon David Moyes to convince the player to come to United, who are likely to miss out on Champions League football for the upcoming season. The Red Devils are currently 12 points behind arch rivals City in the race for top four, with Manuel Pellegrini's side having two games in hand.

The only chance for United to qualify is to win the Champions League, where they have performed admirably well against Olympiacos, turning around a 2-0 deficit in the first leg to win the reverse fixture 3-0.

Moyes was very appreciative of his team's performance to turn the tie around and insisted in his post-match press conference that they can achieve the impossible and replicate Chelsea in 2011/12 to win the Champions League and qualify for the next season.

However, it will be an uphill task for United, whose performance this season hit a nadir when they succumbed to an ignominious 3-0 loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The defending champions are currently languishing in seventh spot, below Tottenham and Everton in fifth and sixth respectively, and need to win their remaining games to secure a Europa League spot in the upcoming season.