Madrid Interested in Manchester City Striker Target But It's 'Complicated' - Report

Real Madrid may be set to disappoint last season's Premier League champions. Spanish newspaper Marca believes the Santiago Bernabeu club has declared an interest in Napoli striker Edinson Cavani. The report quotes Walter Guglielmone, Cavani's brother, in conversation with Naples radio station Kiss Kiss.

"Real Madrid is interested in Edinson, but his release clause is very high, so it's complicated. I would like to see him play in Spain. Edinson is focused on ending the season in the best way possible. Money isn't important," Guglielmone explained, adding, "Personally, I don't know if he'll stay in Italy, but he's reached the top in the Napoli shirt and is really happy at having scored 101 goals for the club."

The 26-year-old Uruguayan international has had an excellent season in the Serie A so far, with 26 goals from 31 league games. The South American's goals have been a critical part of the club's success, with Napoli now guaranteed Champions League qualification next season.

Three more points from the remaining three games will see the Naples club advance directly into the group stages. And a measure of Cavani's importance to Napoli was underlined last weekend, when he scored a hat-trick in the impressive 3-1 win over former champions Inter Milan.

Cavani has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League, with Chelsea and City understood to be in the race for his signature. Speculation surrounding a move began as early as last summer but the €70m release clause in his contract made negotiations difficult. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has previously claimed the club will look to enforce that amount.

The Metro believes City have already offered a £256,000 per week deal to the player, which is likely to make Chelsea think twice, particularly since they have already been linked to a similar bid for Atlético Madrid striker Radamel Falcao.

Madrid's Interest

Madrid's interest in Cavani likely stems from the understanding that Argentina international Gonzalo Higuain will leave the club in the summer. The 25-year-old will reportedly leave the club in the summer, according to general manager Jose Angel Sanchez.

If that happens, it will leave only France international Karim Benzema as the senior striker in the squad, with youngster Alvaro Morata for back-up. Consequently, Madrid are likely to sign a top-class goal scorer in the summer and have already been linked to Borussia Dortmund's Polish international, Robert Lewandowski.