Gonzalo higuain: chelsea have transfer plan in place but sarri key

The Argentine hit the ground running for the Blues with two goals against Huddersfield in the Premier League. Higuain had far less of an impact as Chelsea were thumped 6-0 by Manchester City

last time out though. Despite that the Blues are confident of making the loan permanent in the summer for less than the £31.7million (€36m) originally agreed. _ESPN FC_ claim that’s because

Juventus can’t afford to keep Higuain after signing Cristiano Ronaldo last summer. Chelsea paid an initial £8m (€9m) to the Serie A side to take the Argentine on striker on loan. And the

agreement says the Blues must pay another £15.9m (€18m) if they want to extend the deal for a year. Chelsea can also trigger a permanent deal if they pay the £31.7m mentioned above. But the

Blues are confident of lowering that asking price because of the financial constraints Juventus need to meet. Ronaldo is said to earn a whopping £27.3m (€31m) per season - more than three

times that of any other player in Serie A. And Juventus have already agreed to sign Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal in the summer and pay him big wages. The future of Maurizio Sarri could be key

to any deal for Higuain. The Italian is under severe pressure following the 6-0 hammering at the hands of City. But the reports claim Chelsea’s main aim remains to finish in the top four and

Sarri will only likely be sacked if the Blues do not secure Champions League qualification. Chelsea return to action tonight in the Europa League as they face Malmo (8pm). After that the

Blues take on Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday (7.30pm).