According to reports from Mirror Football, Chelsea have identified Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain as a potential replacement for struggling frontman Diego Costa.
The Spain international is one of the leading culprits behind the Blues’ woeful form this term, having scored just once in all competitions since admitting in October that he’d begun the season overweight, and Mirror Football claim Chelsea are considering potential replacements.
Napoli star Gonzalo Higuain, a striker who won the La Liga title with the Special One during their three years together at Real Madrid, is high on Jose Mourinho’s wishlist.
Premier League rivals Arsenal are also known admirers of the Argentina international, who represented his country in the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa America finals, having almost signed him back in summer 2013.
They’ve been continuously linked since and as recently as the end of last month, although remain reluctant to pay his £67million release clause in full – something the Stadio San Paolo outfit have previously insisted upon.
Earlier this week, the 27-year-old’s brother and agent Nicolas told reporters that although the striker is happy in Naples, there are no negotiations underway to extend his contract past 2018.
He told Calcio Mercato; “He’s very happy in Naples. You just need to watch his performances to understand how much he respects the shirt. At the moment, we are not in talks with Napoli for Gonzalo’s contract renewal. I met the President Aurelio De Laurentiis a few months ago in Venice, but it was not the time to start negotiations in that period as we were both focused on reaching our targets.”
That situation could force Napoli to surrender Higuain for significantly less than his release clause at the end of the season, especially if they miss out on Champions League qualification for the second year in a row, but a move in January seems incredibly unlikely.
The South American has been enjoying predictably strong form in front of goal this season. Higuain’s winner against Udinese on Sunday was the 200th goal of his professional career, and he’s now just one strike away from matching Diego Maradona’s record of scoring in seven successive home fixtures for Napoli.