It’s safe to say that Chelsea has always been in the business of going the extra mile in the transfer window. Instead of utilising their award-winning youth academy, Chelsea prefers to buy proven players to aid their growth in the Premier League. Last season, Alvaro Morata was Chelsea’s blockbuster summer signing, this summer it’s going to be the turn of Gonzalo Higuaín. Yes, the Argentinean may be one of the best strikers on the planet, but what would his signing mean for Chelsea’s current squad? Especially Michy Batshuayi.
I can’t help but think, Chelsea would be better off just placing faith in Michi Batshuayi than spending £53million on Gonzalo Higuaín. It became evidently clear last season that the Belgian wasn’t a favourite of Antonio Conte, as the Italian shipped him out on loan to Borussia Dortmund. However, Chelsea is set to announce the capture of Maurizio Sarri and with that arrival, they want to also announce the Higuaín deal.
Like I said before, Higuaín is a world-class striker but at 30 years of age, of what use is the Argentinean to Chelsea in 2018? In 103 appearances for Juventus, Higuaín has scored 55 goals, equating to a goal every 1.8 games. Such a strike rate cannot be replicated by many others across the world. That’s a strike rate that puts him in an echelon just under the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Speaking of the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make a £88million move to the Italian Champions. Seeing as the 33-year-old no longer plays on the wing, he’d be moving to Juventus to become their number one striker. This directly puts Higuaín’s starting place in jeopardy, as Ronaldo isn’t coming to Italy to be second best.
Last season, Batshuayi proved that if given the right service, he can deliver. In just 10 appearances for Dortmund, the 24-year-old directly contributed to eight goals (7G, 1A). In contrast, the man who he was sent out on loan for, Alvaro Morata could only score 11 goals in 31 appearances.
It’s that return that has effectively put the Spaniard in the shop window as he looks for an escape route out of London. It’s even been suggested that Morata could be used in a swap deal to bring Higuaín to London, thus allowing Morata to return to Turin.
Where does this all leave Olivier Giroud? It was the Frenchman that stepped up in the last part of the season to help carry Chelsea through. While Morata was busy getting stage fright, Giroud was using his years of experience to deliver for the Blues.
Lest we forget, this is a man that has scored 76 Premier League goals in his career. So, what more firepower would you need? A young and hungry striker in Michy Batshuayi and an experienced forward in Olivier Giroud is more than enough to see Chelsea through to a push for the title.
Three years ago, Gonzalo Higuaín would have been an amazing acquisition for the Blues. However, in 2018, the 30-year-old is just another failed Andriy Shevchenko experiment waiting to happen.
