Edinson Cavani was available, on a free transfer, to anybody who wanted to pay his handsome wages since June. Despite this fact, Manchester United waited until the 11th hour of the summer transfer window to go and get the Uruguay international.
They are paying for their idleness and twiddling their thumbs now because the centre-forward won’t be available right away due to COVID-19 precautions and travel protocols. El Matador will have to isolate for two weeks upon arrival with the club.
He can train individually, but can’t participate in group training, and is also ruled out for the next match at Newcastle United.
Specifics from Sky Sports, via their partners NBC Sports:
“Having been a free agent, Cavani has not been part of an elite sport ‘bubble’ meaning he is not exempt from the 14-day quarantine which people arriving from France must adhere to under current coronavirus guidelines.”
Yes, given the situation in France, those arriving in England must quarantine upon first arriving.
Edinson Cavani was solid pickup for United, and he does indeed fill a team need, but it’s clear that the 33-year-old Uruguay international was not really a part of the team’s transfer plans. The coronavirus precautions in place means that the very first game he will be available for selection is, wait for it, the UEFA Champions League group stage opener against his former club Paris Saint-Germain on Oct. 21.
Say what you want about 2020, and most people will say bad things about it (as they should), but it’s filled with plot twists.
Whomever the script writers are for this wildest and most chaotic of years, they seem to always thicken the plot line whenever they can.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.