FRANK LAMPARD faces the mother of all battles to land striker Edinson Cavani.
The Paris Saint-Germain star’s mum has now weighed into the tug of war between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid to sign her son.
Berta Gomez said: “It’s complicated but he wants to play at Atletico and if it’s not now, in the summer.
“We have been eager for some time but it doesn’t depend on my son but on PSG and Atletico Madrid.
“We understand their position but what we don’t understand is that they want him to stay and then they only bring him out for six minutes.
“They are not treating him well considering what he has given to PSG in the almost seven years he has been there.”
Chelsea boss Lampard signalled his intent to go after Uruguayan Cavani as he looks for more goals in his team.
That search has intensified after watching his team chuck away the lead twice against Arsenal on Tuesday night and seeing number one striker Tammy Abraham limp off at full-time with an ankle injury.
Chelsea will only get a more detailed prognosis on Thursday after leaving the affected area to settle down for 24 hours.
But it is likely Abraham would have been rested for Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Hull anyway.
In the meantime Lampard is chasing an experienced forward and PSG’s record goalscorer Cavani fits the bill at 32 years old.
But Chelsea are playing hardball over the French champions’ £12.6million price tag with only six months left on their player’s contract.
Cavani has asked to leave after making only 14 appearances this season and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has been chasing him for two years.
Chelsea are refusing to give up even after having an enquiry to take Cavani on loan rebuffed but are playing catch up.
Cavani’s dad Luis said: “I think there is a strong chance he will go to Atletico. The option to join the club always remains in June.
“There are lots of other clubs but when you give your word to a team, you respect it. If tomorrow, if he is available and Atletico still want him, I think he will sign.
“He is a player who needs time to play and today, he only plays four or six minutes per game. PSG are treating him unfairly.”
