Chelsea could possibly be forced to wait until next week to secure a deal to sign Gonzalo Higuain, due to a delay in AC Milan signing his replacement.
As noted by The Guardian, Higuain is expected to wrap up a move to Chelsea this month, cutting short his loan spell with Milan after leaving Juventus last summer on a season-long deal, as per Sky Sports.
However, that could now be delayed as Milan would arguably be sensible to secure his replacement first before green lighting a switch to Stamford Bridge.
As noted by Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio in his tweet below, after holding talks with Genoa officials on Friday evening to try and seal the signing of Krzysztof Piatek, it has been suggested that the two parties will meet again next Tuesday to finalise the details.
In turn, particularly with a clash against Genoa coming up on Monday, coupled with the risk involved of allowing Higuain to leave and then a possible snag coming up in the Piatek deal, that could now force the Argentine to remain at San Siro for a few more days.
Milan have been tipped to secure a €40m+ deal for Piatek, as noted by Sportmediaset, with the Polish forward bagging 19 goals in 21 games so far this season.
In contrast, Higuain has struggled in leading their line with just eight goals in 22 outings, but a potential reunion with Maurizio Sarri could help the 31-year-old rediscover his best form, especially given that he enjoyed the most prolific campaign of his career under the Italian tactician during their time together at Napoli.
However, it’s fair to say that he won’t be signed before Saturday’s clash with Arsenal, and a deal may have to wait until early next week when Milan have secured Piatek.