The unwanted one. Gonzalo Higuain is struggling to convince anyone this season that he remains an elite striker and it seems as if Chelsea may soon become the latest club to cast him aside.
The Argentine has been on the books of three teams over the past 12 months – Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea – but
"It's up to him. He has to score, first of all. I think that for a long-term contract, he has to do very well. He has to play. He has to score. He has to be useful for the team,” Maurizio Sarri told reporters when Higuain signed for Chelsea in January.
The 31-year-old arrived on an initial six-month deal from Juventus after his disappointing loan at Milan was ended after just half a season. Chelsea
But in order to do so, Higuain needed to really impress the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, who altered their policy of not signing players over 30 to reunite the striker with his former Napoli coach.
Together with Sarri, Higuain smashed home a record 36 Serie A goals in 35 games for the Italian southerners in 2015-16.
Unfortunately, he has been way off that level for Chelsea. He has found the net just four times in 15 appearances – those goals coming against Burnley and already relegated Fulham and Huddersfield – and he was heavily criticised for his performance against Manchester United on Sunday.
He was caught offside five times and produced only one shot on target. Incredibly, this was only the second time he has hit a shot on target for the Blues against a top-six side.
Higuain arrived at Chelsea lacking match sharpness having been left out of the Milan team prior to his move. His record with the Rossoneri was far from impressive, too, as he scored just eight goals in 22 games.
These numbers are not befitting of a leading striker at Chelsea and it is no surprise that Sarri has sometimes reverted to using Eden Hazard as a ‘false 9’ in big games.
Higuain was signed to replace the wantaway Alvaro Morata, who had found himself unable to adapt to English football himself. But since going out on loan to Atletico Madrid, the Spaniard has shone – with six goals in 13 games and, more importantly, some impressive all-round play.
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There is no way back for Morata at Chelsea, though, as Atleti have an option to buy him for £43.7 million (€50m/$57m) and they will likely take it up.
Sarri would be happy to keep Higuain, who he feels he can mould into a top striker again through his coaching methods, while the frontman also wants to stay at his loan club. But fans and the club’s directors may have other ideas.
A £31m (€36m/$40m) clause gives Chelsea the option to make Higuain's loan deal permanent, while Juventus would be happy to see that activated as they aim to get him off their books permanently after signing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Higuain is now reliant on Sarri convincing the higher-ups at Stamford Bridge that they shouldn’t give up on him and that he does represent value for money.
However, that may not be possible without any evidence on the pitch to support Sarri’s view. Higuain’s poor performance at Old Trafford only weakened the Italian’s case further.
Like Mateo Kovacic, who is in a similarly hopeful position of making his loan deal permanent from Real Madrid, Higuain is also reliant on the reversal or delay of the current transfer ban which hangs over Chelsea's current summer plans. The Blues are fighting the case legally right now.
With only a maximum of five games left for Chelsea this season, time is clearly running out for Higuain. Indeed, it may have already run out.
