Chelsea: Higuain is a Good Short-Term Fix, but Nothing More
It’s no secret that Chelsea have had a void at centre-forward for some time, and it seems that they’ve turned towards 31-year-old Gonzalo Higuain for answers.
Chelsea have looked more positive and innovative under Maurizio Sarri this season, with a fluid midfield working well and Eden Hazard consistently reaching his most productive levels. Despite this, there is still one glaring hole in the squad that they seem determined to fill this January – centre-forward.
Olivier Giroud is a good focal-point that Hazard loves to play off of, but he simply isn’t a mobile enough striker for a Sarri side, and doesn’t hit the back of the net often enough either. The other striker, Alvaro Morata, was brought in 2 summers ago to be the main man at Stamford Bridge, and he has not hit the levels expected of him whatsoever.
In fact, it seems that Morata is on his way out to make room for Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, who has been heavily linked to the Blues this week, and looks to be joining. Higuain is currently on loan at AC Milan, where he has 6 goals in 15 league games, but looks set to cut that deal short in order to play at Stamford Bridge.
Higuain is a quality player that has the tools to thrive for Chelsea.
There’s no doubt about it – Higuain is significantly better than both Giroud and Morata, and will provide Chelsea with a proper striker to help them on the front foot for the rest of the season, and maybe beyond that. He is big, technically skilled, and can play with his back to goal. All 3 of those characteristics will please Eden Hazard, who is often at his best when playing off of strikers of a similar mold (Costa in the past and Lukaku for Belgium).
There have been many questions as to whether Higuain will be able to adapt to the Premier League mid-way through a season, but there’s a very, very good chance that he will be a better option than Morata or Giroud regardless of whether he fully adapts or not.
He is far more clinical and far more talented than any option Chelsea currently possess.
The Argentine is not the same player he once was though, and Chelsea need to be wary of that.
What we do have to remember about Gonzalo Higuain is that he is well into his 30’s. It’s not as if his physical level has dropped off a cliff, but at his age, that drop-off is bound to happen at some point within the next couple years. So if Chelsea want to take this deal on permanently, they’re going to need a younger option of high quality to play a rotation role.
It’s no secret that Higuain’s production has declined massively in the past few years as well. His goal production in Serie A halved from his last season with Napoli in 15-16 (36 goals) to his second season with Juventus in 17-18 (16 goals). Therefore, it’s clear that Chelsea aren’t getting the prime Gonzalo Higuain that lit up world football.
If this deal was permanent, it would be a major risk for Chelsea. Higuain is not the same player he once was in his prime, and his physical and production levels are dropping steadily. He is still a talented centre-forward though, and Chelsea are truly missing that right now.
For the rest of this season at least, the Blues would be silly not to take him on as a quality stop-gap signing in the gaping hole up front that neither Giroud nor Morata are capable of filling.