Chelsea falling short in pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain striker

Talks between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain over Edinson Cavani have stalled as the Ligue 1 champions are demanding £12.6m, claims The Daily Telegraph.

Cavani wants to leave PSG as soon as possible after dropping completely out of favour under Thomas Tuchel this season.

The Uruguay international has entered the final six months of his current PSG deal but Tuchel wants him gone sooner.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard wants to bring Cavani to Stamford Bridge to ease the burden on Tammy Abraham for the second half of the season.

However, Cavani's preference is to join Atletico Madrid and Chelsea are not willing to match PSG's valuation.

Chelsea's preference is to secure Cavani on a six-month loan deal and then sign a long-term target in the summer.

Cavani turns 33 next month and would likely only join Chelsea if he is given assurances about guaranteed playing time.

The veteran forward's eye-watering £360,000-a-week wages are also a massive stumbling block for Chelsea.

Cavani has been limited to just four league starts this season and a further five appearances from the bench. He has returned two goals in that time and a WhoScored rating of 6.35.