Chelsea will have to smash the British transfer record again if they are to land prime target Edinson Cavani, The Mirror reports.

Blues will need to go to £53million after French moneybags Paris Saint-Germain began an all-out assault to persuade Cavani to leave Napoli for Ligue 1.

And with the French champions prepared to meet Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis' demands for the full buy-out clause written into the striker’s contract, it leaves Chelsea facing a significant dilemma.

While Jose Mourinho wants the Uruguayan, believing he is the ideal line-leader for next season’s revamped team Chelsea have signaled they will not be held to ransom.

Chelsea were burned by the record £50m fee they were forced to pay Liverpool for Fernando Torres in 2011 and do not want history to repeat itself, especially with the Spaniard now set for a cut-price exit.

Although Chelsea are willing to meet the player’s demands for a five-year contract worth around £7.5m - £150,000 per week they have so far refused to go above £45m.

The Blues' strategy was a belief that, despite Napoli's insistence that the full contract clause is met, the Italian side would eventually come to the table, especially if Torres could be included as a make-weight in the deal.

But, in a contrasting report in the Daily Mail, it is said Chelsea will step up their pursuit of Wayne Rooney and Robert Lewandowski after Paris Saint-Germain tabled a £43million bid for Napoli striker Edinson Cavani yesterday.

Roman Abramovich does not want to be dragged into a bidding war for top target Cavani even though the French champions, bankrolled by Qatari  billions, are still £11m short of triggering the Uruguayan’s release clause.

Abramovich smashed the British transfer record when he paid Liverpool £50m for Fernando Torres in January 2011 and, although he is determined to support Jose Mourinho in the transfer market he is wary of another massive investment in a 26-year-old.