Reports: Juventus close to confirming Gonzalo Higuain signing in mammoth €94 million deal
Juventus have reportedly reached an agreement with Napoli for the permanent transfer of Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain. The 28-year-old will reportedly cost the Turin club a whopping €94 million making him the second most expensive transfer in the world – alongside Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Higuain – who was also linked with moves to Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea – will sign a four-year deal rumoured to be around €7.5 million-a-year – and up to a massive €10 million when you include earnings from image rights. The deal is expected to be completed within a day or two and will shatter every transfer record in the Serie A.
Juventus have already signed six players this summer in Dani Alves, Simone Ganz, Medhi Benatia, Mario Lemina, Marka Pjaca and Miralem Pjanic. Higuain alone will cost 1.5 times the transfer cost of all of those six players combined. The Turin club have, however, sold Alvaro Morata and host of other players recuperating a total of €36.7 million.
While a global star like Higuain is incoming, Juventus are also said to be closing in on the deal that sees Paul Pogba return to his former club Manchester United. The 23-year-old is close to signing for the Red Devils in a deal that is set to cost Ed Woodward and the club an even more ludicrous €120 million.
It is likely Juventus are using the money from the Pogba deal to fund the move for Higuain. Pogba is expected to sign for Manchester United in the coming days and it is likely that the two clubs have thrashed out the financial agreements that are to be made.
Napoli, meanwhile, are linked with a host of other stars and will now have the financial capabilities of signing at least two to three global stars with the money they earn from the Higuain deal.
Here's reliable Gianluca Di Marzio confirming the deal through his Twitter account.