It is finally in Villarreal, north of Valencia, that Edinson Cavani, 35, should unpack his suitcase.
The former Parisian striker, record holder for goals scored at PSG - 200 in seven seasons and 296 games, followed by Kylian Mbappé with 172 goals - is expected in Villarreal this Saturday to pass the medical examination prior to the signing of a two-year contract. years, according to Argentine television TyC Sports.
Free of any contract after the last two seasons at Manchester United, the Uruguayan has been announced in many clubs in recent weeks.
There have been talks of him returning to South America, to Argentinian side Boca Juniors.
There have also been reports of a possible agreement with Borussia Dortmund and with FC Valencia, already in La Liga.
And even several offers from OGC Nice, in search of offensive reinforcements.
In view of the World Cup, an additional season with a European club makes sense for the international striker with 123 caps and 53 goals.
In Qatar, Celeste is in Group H with Portugal, Ghana and South Korea.
In June, proof of his intact motivation, Cavani scored twice against Mexico (3-0) and Panama (5-0) in preparation matches.
But still it was necessary to convince a European club of importance to make a real place for him after two mediocre seasons in England, in particular the last one, only 15 games and 2 goals.
Ups and downs under his command
“I have spoken with Cavani for two years, and very often, declared Juan Roman Riquelme, the former Argentine No. 10, vice-president of Boca Juniors most recently on ESPN.
He was very clear with me, he told me that everything was settled with Villarreal…”
If this is the case, Edinson Cavani will find Unai Emery, who aroused unanimous admiration by leading the Yellow Submarine to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season - lost to Liverpool.
In addition, Villarreal finished 7th in La Liga and won a place in the Europa League Conference.
"He's a player that interests us," confirmed Emery at a press conference on Wednesday, with all the usual precautions.
Emery talks about Cavani and dreams of finding him at Villarreal… pic.twitter.com/6aY8JZXmKA
— ParisTeam (@Paristeamfr) August 17, 2022
In Paris, the two men remember having worked well together.
It was under the guidance of the Basque coach, for two seasons, that the Matador had its best performance in Ligue 1 in the seven years spent in the capital, with 35 goals in 2016-2017 and 28 goals in 2017-2018.
However, it was also under the Emery era that Cavani, while delivering his most accomplished season in the Parisian jersey, experienced two huge disappointments in 2017 with the comeback suffered in Barcelona (6-1) in the League of champions and the Ligue 1 title relinquished to Monaco.
However, the Uruguayan, who will discover a new European championship after Italy, France and England, is no longer in a position to place his standards in terms of standing as high as when he left PSG. summer 2020.
In addition to the goalscorer's own qualities, Emery has certainly remembered the player's dedication to his team.
All the charisma also emanating from Cavani, who remained with the supporters as a major player in the history of the club, like Raï or Pauleta.
Perhaps Emery feels these qualities make Cavani a worthy member of his Yellow Submarine.