The stats that show why Man Utd want to keep Edinson Cavani for another season

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have been linked with just about every top striker in European football this season but at the end of the day it seems as though they’d rather stick with Edinson Cavani. 

According to the BBC, the Old Trafford side are set to confirm a one-year extension for the Uruguay international that would see him remain at the Premier League club until the end of next season. 

The news may come as a surprise to some, following months of speculation that has hinted at Cavani returning to South America to see out the remainder of his career close to home. 

However, it now seems as though Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has convinced the striker that he’ll be a pivotal part of the club’s first team plans next season and won’t be gathering dust on the bench. 

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And when we take a look at Cavani’s stats for this season that certainly seems to be the case. 

At 34 years of age, Cavani is certainly not expecting to play every week for Man Utd but the senior striker has proved to be an excellent addition to Solskjaer’s side since making the move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2020. 

Over the course of 35 games in all competitions, Cavani has bagged no less than 15 goals and five assists. With the most recent coming at the weekend in a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa and the Europa League semi-finals against Roma. 

The Premier League’s most efficient goalscorers this season

Cavani: One of the Premier League’s most efficient goal scorers

While Cavani’s 15 goals for Man Utd may not include him among Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and the top tier of strikers around European football, it’s still the third most impressive return for a Man Utd player this season with only Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scoring more in all competitions. 

However, it’s the fact that Cavani has scored so many goals in such a short space of time that underlines his effectiveness for Man Utd this season and why the club want him to stay for another year. 

For example, while Cavani’s total goal tally in the Premier League – just nine goals to date – isn’t entirely impressive, his goals per 90 minutes of league action is almost unmatched according to Football Critic. 

In fact, when we exclude penalties and players that have played less than 1000 minutes during this Premier League campaign we find that just one player has a more impressive goal average than the Man Utd striker in the whole league – Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho. 

Cavani may not finish top of any goal scoring charts or be capable of leading the line every week for Solskjaer’s side but as an impact sub and an occasional starter, you’d struggle to find a more deadly goal scorer in English football.