Gonzalo Higuain, the legendary Argentine striker, has joined Chelsea on loan from Juventus. After AC Milan completed the transfer of Krzystof Piatek, Higuain was able to reunite with his previous coach, Maurizio Sarri, and bring chances of succeeding for Chelsea. In this post, I will simply explain Higuain's transfer, and dive into how his style of playing fits the Blues.
The Background Story Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea has been lacking a goalscoring center forward all season. Eden Hazard has taken the responsibility of a false nine but looks out of his depth in a central area. Olivier Giroud looks most adapted to the striker’s role at Chelsea but is a scorer of fabulous goals, not a great goalscorer. Whereas Morata looks like a player short on confidence. In 72 appearances for Chelsea, Morata has 24 goals and 6 assists. It’s not the worst statistics, but in Sarri’s arrangement there is a need for an aggressive striker and Alvaro Morata is clearly not that.
Higuain played under Sarri at Napoli and the duo struck up an astonishing understanding. In his last season at Napoli, the Argentine striker netted 36 goals in 35 Serie A games. Napoli finished that season 2nd behind Juventus.
But AC Milan didn't let Gonzalo Higuain leave the club until they sign a replacement. El Pipita started well for AC Milan scoring six goals in his first seven Serie A matches. Nevertheless, he only scored one goal in his next eight games as Gennaro Gattuso’s side struggled. Milan has turned to Genoa’s Polish center forward Krzysztof Piatek to replace Higuain and is set to sign the striker for around €35 million. Piatek has destroyed the scene this season, managing 20 goals in all tournaments. That’s a goal every 91.7 mins, which is a rate better than Kylian Mbappe (100 mins), Luis Suarez (116 mins) & Robert Lewandowski (112 mins). The transfer of Piatek will be ideal for AC Milan’s young side that has the likes of Franck Kessie, Lucas Paqueta and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Yet, Chelsea will first need to make some room in their team and Alvaro Morata could be transferring to Atletico Madrid to do so. Atletico Madrid has been struggling to score goals this season. Antoine Griezmann is the club’s top scorer in La Liga this season with 9 goals but he is their only source of regular goals. Atletico’s next scorers are 8 players who each have 2 goals.
Morata faced obstacles in the Premier League but was starting to rip it up in La Liga before he left. In his last season for Real Madrid, Morata averaged a goal every 89 minutes. The Spanish striker has relapsed heavily into a player that barely shows confidence anymore. But a move to Atletico Madrid could be excellent for the striker. Diego Simeone has a way of motivating misfits, transforming them into players they forgot they could become. Not to mention that Morata began his career in Atletico’s youth setup and could reclaim his glory in the eyes of the Atletico fans.
Higuain's Method to Shine at Chelsea??
Eden Hazard and Gonzalo Higuain are bound to become the fantastic duo that every Chelsea fan has been looking for. Higuain is an expert at drawing the defensive line backwards and providing free space for the midfielders. At Chelsea, Higuain could do exactly the same with the defenders, and Hazard will drive the ball towards the #10 area. This movement can lead to various outcomes. For instance, passing the ball to Willian for a shot, a long-range shot himself, or a swift one-two with Higuain to get closer to the net.
All in all, Gonzalo Higuain is a striker capable of scoring countless goals. Yet, will this goalscoring streak continue for Higuain at the Premier League? Hope it does.
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