5 alternatives to Gonzalo Higuain for Chelsea to look at
We are just three weeks away from the start of the Premier League season, and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Chelsea. It took until the start of this month for the Blues to sack Antonio Conte and replace him with Maurizio Sarri, who is now trying to get to work in the transfer market.
It was a surprise for everyone that it took so long for Conte to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Despite winning the title in his first season in England, and the FA Cup last season, Chelsea failed to qualify for the Champions League, and there were clear disagreements with the board - particularly over transfer business.
Sarri has already made his first signing at the club, bringing highly-rated midfielder Jorginho with him when he completed the switch from Napoli. There are less than three weeks remaining in the window though, with the Italy international the only man to join Chelsea thus far this summer.
There are still plenty of areas where the Blues need reinforcements this year, one of them being up-front. Chelsea paid a club-record £60m fee to sign Álvaro Morata from Real Madrid last summer, who was brought in to replace Diego Costa after he was banished from the first-team by Conte.
Morata has struggled to settle in England though and despite a promising start, finished the season with just 11 league goals while being left out of the side in favour of Olivier Giroud. It appears as though Sarri wants to make a change in attack this summer and if reports are to be believed, he has chosen Gonzalo Higuain as the man to replace him.
Higuain's goal record has been impressive over the years, though this doesn't mean that he is necessarily the right man for Chelsea going forward. There are often doubts over his fitness, he doesn't have the pace to threaten defenders and has a reputation for struggling to deliver in big games. With that in mind, here are five strikers they should look at, instead of moving for Higuain.
#1 Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
It’s said that Juventus need to sell this summer to make up for the £100m they spent on Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as his subsequent wages. In that case, it appears as though it will be either Higuain or Dybala who will leave this summer.
From Chelsea's perspective, Dybala is the better option. He has often been deployed on the left for Juventus over the past few seasons, though has the capability to play down the middle too.
He is certainly more mobile than Higuain, so would probably suit the way Sarri wants to play more. As he has played out on the flanks regularly, it is likely to be him who loses his place when Ronaldo is integrated into the side.
He is 24 and is yet to truly hit his prime years, though is already a top player. He will want to earn a place in the Argentinian side and impress whoever their new manager is, which will only happen if he is playing regular football at the highest level. He'd be guaranteed that, should he join Chelsea.