Chelsea have reportedly stepped up their chase of Napoli striker Edinson Cavani by lodging a whopping bid of £49.3m to secure his services.
Jose Mourinho's side have been strongly linked with Cavani in the last 48 hours, with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirming interest from the Blues in his star player.
After having an initial cash-plus-player offer including Fernando Torres turned down, Chelsea have decided to up the ante and register a bid just shy of £50m to get their man, according to The Mirror.
Napoli are holding firm under strong interest from the Blues and Manchester City, insisting that any interested party must meet Cavani's £53.6m buyout clause.
The 26-year-old is widely expected to leave the San Paolo this summer after three prolific seasons in Serie A, scoring more than 100 times for Napoli during that spell.
Cavani is currently on international duty with Uruguay ahead of the Confederations Cup, with a decision on his future not expected until the forward returns to Europe next month.
Liam Power
