Edinson Cavani is a dream franchise player for Inter Miami

Upon the conclusion of the 2019-2020 Ligue 1 campaign, PSG striker Edinson Cavani will join Inter Miami. David Beckham couldn’t have bagged a better franchise player, let alone at the striker position.

There have been several players from Europe who have taken the MLS by storm. Wayne Rooney, Sebastian Giovinco, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and current MVP favorite Carlos Vela have enjoyed a great deal of success in the United States since moving from established European clubs. But there’s something extra special about Inter Miami coaxing Edinson Cavani from PSG as their first big-name signing.

Per La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Nicolo Schira, Cavani will join Inter Miami on a three-year deal when the current Ligue 1 campaign finishes. The terms of the deal are unclear, but it confirms a report last week from Alvaro Izquierdo, who stated that Cavani would move to the MLS upon the completion of his current contract at PSG.

Although Cavani will be 33 when he takes the pitch for the MLS’s newest expansion team, he remains one of the most effective No. 9’s in Europe. Whereas Ibrahimovic and Rooney were well past their best days and neither Giovinco nor Vela were global superstars, Cavani is a world-class player who is still playing at that level but will make the switch to the MLS.

That’s an absolutely huge move for Inter Miami, and, provided the team gels well, it could make David Beckham’s squad early favorites for the MLS Cup. Competition will be stiff from the likes of LAFC, but Cavani is a special goal-scorer who could add a level of consistent class that fans in America have yet to see.

Cavani is the definition of a complete striker and is coming off of a season in which he deposited 18 goals in 21 appearances for the Ligue 1 champions. Just one year earlier, Cavani had 28 goals, and he also scored 35 times in 2016-2017.

The reason for the sudden drop in goals in 2018-2019? French sensation Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian superstar Neymar, with Mbappe leading all players in Europe last season by finding the net a whopping 33 times.

Despite competing with Angel Di Maria, Neymar, and Mbappe for goals, Cavani still finished second behind the world’s fastest rising star with 18 of his own. On top of that, Cavani is an excellent dribbler who makes intelligent runs of the ball, and works as hard as any target man in Europe. He brings other attackers, such as Mbappe and Neymar, into play, and those traits would make his teammates at Inter Miami that much more dangerous.

Cavani’s ability to pick out teammates and create goals from nothing could put him on Zlatan’s level in terms of excitement. And he’s an even more consistent player with a better recent track record in Europe heading into the MLS, meaning he’s far more exciting than most 32-year-old attacking players heading to the U.S.

Previously, Inter Miami were mentioned in rumors for Barcelona striker Luis Suarez, who is Cavani’s teammate at Uruguay. Like Cavani, Suarez is 32 and likely to leave Barca in the final year of his deal. Unlike Cavani, Suarez is clearly declining and is coming off a mediocre season at Barcelona. Though he scored 21 goals, it also took him 31 games to notch that total, meaning Cavani’s per game ratio is significantly better.

It’s possible for Inter Miami to sign both Uruguayan superstar strikers and unite them, forming a formidable duo in their quest for the MLS Cup in their first season of existence. But if Beckham’s exciting team can only bring in one of them, Cavani is the best possible option, and there may not be a better player that they could conceivably sign for 2020.

Fans will watch closely to see how Beckham follows up the three-year contract given to PSG’s world-class No. 9, but it’s safe to say that this is an incredibly strong start on paper for the expansion team.