Rumour: Chelsea prepare outrageous £48 million bid for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain

Gonzalo Higuain (C)

Chelsea are rumoured to be preparing an audacious £48 million swoop for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain. The forward played under Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, and Express report that he could in line for a reunion with the Portuguese boss. Higuain only joined Napoli in the summer but the Naples club are said to be tempted by the opportunity to make a quick profit on the £35 million that they paid for the Argentinian, although Mourinho may have to wait until the summer to get his man.

Higuain was close to a move to the Premier League in the summer. He was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal but instead moved to Italy, where he has scored nine goals in 16 Serie A games. He has also scored four goals in five Champions League outings for Rafael Benitez’s side – form that has seen him identified as the man to improve Chelsea’s goal-shy attack.

Between them, Chelsea’s strikers have scored only five Premier League goals this season. Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o have netted two apiece, whilst Demba Ba has one goal. It is little secret that Mourinho is in the market for a striker, and he certainly knows what to expect from Higuain. The striker scored 26 goals in 28 La Liga appearances under Mourinho’s management last season, reportedly enough to convince Mourinho to part with £48 million of Roman Abramovich’s cash.

Higuain has a shot accuracy of 58%, higher than Torres (56%), Ba (55%) and Eto’o (53%).