As seems to happen in most transfer windows, a huge Gonzalo Higuain story has been developing over the past few days. Traditionally, Arsenal have been involved in such claims and this time is certainly no different. It would be odd for there to be a big Higuain circus without the London club present.
On Thursday the Italian media launched the idea of a Juventus transfer, with various claims about deals involving players plus cash. It would be the biggest transfer in Italian football given the figures being quoted, and Napoli fans would surely be left furious if their star player moved to Turin.
Italian website Calciomercato go over things on Friday and say Juventus are ready to pay €94m for Higuain, and offer him wages of €7.5m per year. With bonuses relating to player and team achievements, that could rise to €10m.
However, Juventus won’t have it all their own way. Arsenal are specifically mentioned as being a club willing to satisfy the demands of Napoli, and they go on to say it’s therefore the player’s choice.
In all honesty, it would be hugely surprising if Arsenal parted with such a fee for Higuain, they could almost certainly get Karim Benzema for less, with both players turning 29 years of age in December.
The next few days are crucial, the Higuain transfer rumours could turn into something very real, or crash and burn.