Chelsea FC have been strongly linked with Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain for quite some time, and now it appears this transfer saga is quickly headed towards conclusion.
According to The Guardian, Higuain “is expected in London over the next 48 hours to undertake a medical and complete the formalities” of his transfer. The outlet states that the 31-year-old, who spent the first half of the season on loan with Milan, has already said his Juve goodbyes. The transaction calls for the Argentinian to join the west London side on a six-month loan initially, with the chance to stick around long term should he reach certain performance and production benchmarks.
The Guardian also adds that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is “still keen for the striker to be joined by a midfielder at Stamford Bridge.” Once the Higuain deal is finalized, and what a big get it would be as the Blues have been after him for some time, the next transfer domino to fall would be current Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard badly wants out, as he’s made it consistently known. However, his potential loan to Sevilla fell through and it remains to be seen where he could land.
Morata is seeking a return to his native Spain, with Atletico Madrid being discussed as a potential destination.
As for Higuain, he choose a loan move to Milan over Chelsea in the summer and he explained that decision publicly afterward (you can read that as this link). Now he seeks a reunion with Sarri, the manager under which he enjoyed a lot of scoring production and stellar form at Napoli.
It’s another move in what has been a very busy January transfer window for Chelsea.
Stamford Bridge has already acquired Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund and sent Cesc Fabregas to AS Monaco. The parting ways with Fabregas is the reason Sarri is serious about adding a midfielder between now and the end of the month.
Sarri said at his weekly news conference today that Chelsea board member and de facto director of football, Marina Granovskaia, Roman Abramovich’s right hand woman, is closing the deal.
However, he doesn’t know when it will be finalized.
“I don’t know [how close it is],” Sarri said.
“I want to be clear, because I cannot help you. I spoke with Marina two weeks ago, so Marina knows my opinion on how to improve the team. Then I decided to focus on the pitch, on matches and training.”
“I am confident because I know Marina is working very hard, but I don’t know the market at all. I want to be focused on the matches. So I don’t call her every evening, otherwise I spend all my mental energy on the market. I think it’s better if I spend all my mental energies on the pitch. So I can’t help you. I don’t know.”
Chelsea at Arsenal FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, January 19, 5:30 PM local, Emirates
Google Result Probability: Chelsea win 39%, Draw 28%, Arsenal win 33%
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Arsenal
Injury Report for both sides: go to this link
Odds via Bet Fair: Chelsea win 11/8, Draw 27/10, Arsenal win 19/10
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Arsenal 2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.