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Chelsea close in on signing Gonzalo Higuain on loan after making official offer to Juventus

Chelsea close in on signing Gonzalo Higuain on loan after making official offer to Juventus

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Gonzalo Higuain after making an official offer to Juventus for the striker.

The Blues have offered to take Higuain on loan until the end of the season with the option to buy the 31-year-old or loan him for a further 12 months.

Higuain has been on loan at AC Milan for the first half of the season, but that deal will now be cut short so he can move to Stamford Bridge providing he can agree personal terms.

Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri will be delighted by news of the deal after making Higuain his preferred choice to replace Alvaro Morata.

Sarri and Higuain worked successfully together at Napoli and his arrival is set to see Morata head out of Chelsea.

Atletico Madrid are expected to sign Morata either or loan or permanently, with the Spanish club making space on their wage bill for the striker.

Gonzalo Higuain playing for AC Milan - Credit: afp
Gonzalo Higuain is currently on loan at AC Milan from Juve Credit: afp

Chelsea are also working on a third deal involving a striker, with Michy Batshuayi desperate to complete a loan move to Monaco, despite the club’s attempt to recoup £40million for the striker.

Monaco have agreed terms with both Batshuayi and Valencia, where the Belgian spent the first half of the season, to take over his loan until the end of the campaign.

But the Ligue 1 strugglers have been waiting for the green light from Chelsea, who have been waiting to see whether they could attract a £40m offer for Batshuayi.

Everton have indicated an interest in Batshuayi, but cannot take a second player on loan from Chelsea along with defender Kurt Zouma. That means the Toffees would have to sign one of the pair outright.

Chelsea would rather sell Batshuayi for £40m to Everton, rather than sanction another six-month loan, but the player would prefer to go to Monaco.

It remains to be seen whether or not Monaco would be prepared, or could afford to commit to signing Batshuayi permanently at the end of a loan.

Despite the fact he cost £33.2m from Marseille two-and-a-half years ago and has failed to make much of an impact at Chelsea, going on loan to Borussia Dortmund and Valencia, the club want to make a profit on Batshuayi.

Confirming the fact Chelsea would prefer to cash in on Batshuayi, Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said: “We have an agreement with Valencia and Batshuayi, but not with Chelsea, who prefer a permanent move.”

Michy Batshuayi on loan at Valencia - Credit: getty images
Chelsea would rather sell Michy Batshuayi for £40m to Everton, rather than sanction another six-month loan Credit: getty images

Chelsea have once again been left annoyed by Bayern Munich’s public pursuit of Callum Hudson-Odoi after the German club confirmed they are “in talks” with the Blues over the teenager.

Bayern have made a series of bids for Hudson-Odoi, the latest of which was £35m, and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said: “We are in talks with Chelsea. We want to sign the player. I am fully convinced of his abilities.”

Chelsea fear they are fighting a losing battle to try to keep Hudson-Odoi, who only has 18 months remaining on his contract and has no intention of signing a new deal.