Chelsea closing in on €36m signing after striking deal with Juventus

Gonzalo Higuain’s move to Chelsea appears to be edging closer, with reports suggesting that an agreement has been found between the Blues and Juventus.

According to a report from the Telegraph, Chelsea have placed an official offer to take Higuain on loan for the rest of the season, with the option to either buy him in the summer or loan him for a further 12 months, a deal which Juventus have sanctioned.

The player looks like he will be brought in as a replacement for Alvaro Morata, who looks set to quit the Blues and return to LaLiga with Atletico Madrid.

The Argentine is currently on an €18million loan at AC Milan with an obligation to buy at €36million (£32m), but it looks like any issues with the deal are close to being ironed out.

Higuain was dropped to the bench for Milan’s Supercoppa defeat to Juventus on Wednesday with what the club claimed was a fever, fuelling speculation that a move was on the cards.

The former Real Madrid and Napoli star landed back in Italy on Thursday morning and refused to be drawn on questions surrounding his future.

“Were you all waiting for me? If you want to create mess [regarding the Chelsea transfer], I’m not the right person for you in this sense.”

#Higuain a @MilanNewsit all'arrivo a Malpensa da Gedda: "Stavate aspettando me? Chelsea? Se state cercando casino con me, non ne troverete mai".🔴⚫
📽️: @TRolfi pic.twitter.com/8GrLZIlnMi

— MilanNews.it (@MilanNewsit) January 17, 2019

Rossoneri boss Gennaro Gattuso did little to cool the situation, hinting that there could be a major development on Thursday.

“If it was his last match with Milan I do not know, I cannot answer,’ said the Italian.

“I’ve got a burning inside me, we have 25 players, so let’s not talk about this now. We lick our wounds and will see what happens tomorrow.”