Chelsea, who have always appeared reluctant to sign players over the age of 30, could be set to sign their second in a year, after Olivier Giroud joined them from Arsenal last January.
You may have already guessed, but the man in question is Gonzalo Higuain, with whom Maurizio Sarri is keen to have a reunion at Stamford Bridge.
The transfer has been discussed in the press a fair bit of late, with AC Milan’s director of football, Leonardo, even going as far as saying it was up to the striker to decide what he wanted to do, seemingly opening a door for a deal to be made.
However, the situation is rather complicated, and Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday try and shed some light on it.
They explain ‘significant contacts’ have taken place between all three clubs concerned in the deal (Chelsea, Juventus and Milan), with Chelsea needing to pay €9m take over the Argentine’s loan for the second half of the season.
This comes after Milan paid Juventus €18m to secure the player’s services for the campaign, with the Serie A side then expected to pay €36m to make the deal permanent.
It’s that last part that’s making Chelsea think twice about making a move, with their over 30 rule coming into play, as Marina Granovskaia doesn’t see a value in the transfer and Juventus won’t let Higuain go somewhere else if they can’t find a team willing to pay the €36m.
Despite this, Gazzetta also state Gonzalo Higuain’s brother has been in London for the ‘past couple of days’ to try and ‘sniff out’ the Blues’ stance on the matter.
Sarri wants the striker, Granovskaia doesn’t. It’s a bit like the Nicolo Barella situation all over again, isn’t it? A trend Chelsea fans probably should be wary of.
