Spanish press is running with the story that Chelsea are prepared to pay some ?49 million for Madrid`s striker, Gonzalo Higuaín. The news, which makes the front page of ‘As`, suggests that Chelsea need to renew its strikeforce, given the age of Didier Drogba (33), Nicolas Anelka (32) and the poor results from a certain Spanish hitman who cost £50 million barely 10 months ago (5 goals in official competitions, of which 4 so far this season).
Of course, Chelsea can also point to the goals coming from midfield, but it is clear that Frank Lampard cannot be the main source, even if he is Chelsea`s top scorer so far. Daniel Sturridge is promising, and Romelu Lukaku is a future prospect. Chelsea therefore need somebody now, and a new hitman could allow Drogba and Anelka to leave.
And this is where Higuaín comes in. As a striker, you can`t argue with the Argentine, he is banging them in when he is playing: 11 in the Liga and with an average of a goal every 61 minutes. The problem is that he isn`t playing as much as his numbers demand, for any number of reasons, most notably that Madrid prefer to line up the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema instead of him.
Chelsea have been looking for strikers and there is a feeling that Chelsea have lost out on a number of signings: Coentrao went to Madrid, Sergio Agüero to Manchester City, and Madrid barged ahead of Chelsea in their pursuit of Neymar, to the extent that Santos denounced Madrid and persuaded Neymar to renew his contract rather than sell him to Madrid.
Chelsea therefore feel that Higuaín could be tempted. Of Madrid`s strikers, he is the lowest paid: his ?3,5 million per year compare to ?5 million for Benzema and ?9 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. This is not likely to change in the near future as Madrid renegotiated Higuaín`s contract only last June. The new contract is until 2016, and has a buyout clause of ?200 million. Higuaín is not happy with this.
Chelsea, who are looking for their new striker for next season, are apparently prepared to offer ?49 million. Is that likely to tempt Madrid? In matters concerning Higuaín, one has to bear a vital factor in mind: he was signed by current President Florentino Pérez` predecessor, Ramon Calderon. Higuaín is therefore favoured neither by Pérez nor by manager José Mourinho, which is one of the reasons why he has not fitted in, even when in competition with a striker who went through a poor patch (Benzema, a star signing in 2010). In addition, despite always being a good striker with a great goals-to-minutes-played ratio, he has gone through a bad series of injuries. Higuaín, despite being a favourite of the fans, has had difficulty fitting in and benefiting from a regular run.
For this reason, Madrid might well countenance a sale. It goes without saying, however, that it would not be at that price, that Madrid would have to go through a pointless dance to insist that they only sell players on their own terms.
Apparently, however, Chelsea are already considering an alternative, should it not be possible to attract Higuaín to Stamford Bridge: a certain Falcão, well known to Andre Villas-Boas, linked to Chelsea over the summer but who signed for Atletico only last August?.
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