Although most of the Italian media have Gonzalo Higuain’s loan to Chelsea classified as pretty much done, it isn’t official, meaning things could still go wrong.
Since details still need to be sorted, Gazzetta dello Sport are pretty adamant the striker will not be signed and registered in time to face Arsenal at the weekend, meaning next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final return clash against Tottenham could very well be his first appearance.
However, it appears the Italian newspaper have changed their tune with regards to how the deal could pan out after the current campaign, with suggestions of a permanent transfer rather than a simple loan extension.
Gazzetta explain that, for now, Chelsea will pay the €9m for the second half of the €18m loan he was originally on at Milan, but a ‘redemption price’ still needs to be agreed on, which should be similar to the €36m previously required to move for good to San Siro.
That, as we all know, will be a problem for the Blues, who do not like to invest heavily on players above the age of 30 (Higuain is 31).
Whether this is just a hopeful move by Juventus, wanting to get rid of the Argentine permanently instead of him returning at the end of the 2019-2020 season, isn’t specified, but it’s worth pointing out Corriere dello Sport still see the move as a six month loan with a possible 12 month extension.
There’s hope the striker could be in London on Friday to finalise the move, but that isn’t a guarantee, and should he not, he would effectively remain a Milan player ahead of their game against Genoa next Monday.
Even if he is still at the Serie A club by then, it seems unlikely he would even play, unless something dramatically changes over the next couple of days.
