Higuaín left out of AC Milan squad ahead of Chelsea loan move

Maurizio Sarri has tried Álvaro Morata, Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard at center forward so far this season, but none of the three has truly worked out. So, to try to help him solve this issue, Chelsea have reportedly agreed to bring in Gonzalo Higuaín, on loan from Juventus, despite passing the same move back in the summer.

Sarri and Higuaín worked together for a season at Napoli to great effect, and while that was a few years ago now, the hope is that the 31-year-old will rediscover his midas touch in front of goal and help save Chelsea’s season (and Sarri’s job?).

The deal is said to be all but confirmed, and just waiting on other moves around it (Morata exit at Chelsea, Piatek arrival at Milan?) to fall into place. Even AC Milan head coach Gennaro Gattuso, who has been in constant denial throughout the last two months, has admitted that the striker’s time on loan at the Rossoneri is over.

“I want to be honest with you all. We had a poor training session today due to all these rumours. We spoke after the training session and I did not consider him ready for this game. I accept his decision. Surely he could have done more and maybe we could have helped him fit in better. Right now we have to work with professionalism and determination, all these rumours have not helped us lately and we have to look ahead.”

-Gennaro Gattuso; source: ESPN

As a result, Higuaín has apparently been left out of the squad for tomorrow’s game, when Milan take on Genoa away. Coincidentally, Genoa striker Krzysztof Piątek, who’s rumored to be replacing Higuaín, will not be available either as he’s currently serving a one-mach suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Higuaín’s move is expected to be official in the next 24-48 hours, with most reports picking Tuesday as the day when he will be announced at Chelsea.