Stamford Bridge side change course and set sights on Real Madrid ace.
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Jose Mourinho is set to change course in his pursuit of fresh striking options with advances to sign Napoli star Edinson Cavani seemingly hitting an impasse.
The Chelsea boss has now set his sights on Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain according to Italian source TuttoMercato.
Though Higuain very much played second fiddle to French forward Karim Benzema the 25 year old Argentine may well be willing to move to Stamford Bridge if he was of the opinion that he would secure the first team football he is in search of.
This source claims that Real Madrid are looking to secure a fee of around €35m (£29m) and given that such a fee is some way below that which Napoli are attempting to secure from the sale of Cavani that seems a fee that Chelsea would be willing to pay for a player of Higuain’s experience and ability.
Having seen Radamel Falcao opt for a move to Monaco and with Robert Lewandowski seemingly set on a Bayern Munich switch it’s clear that Mourinho’s options regarding a ‘Marquee’ striker signing are diminishing daily, hence the need to act fast.
Chelsea brought in Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen to help strengthen their front-line but the German international is perhaps not the prolific goal-scorer they are after, more an adaptable attacking option.
Higuain has netted122 goals in seven seasons at the Bernabeu, managing 18 goals in all competitions in 2012/13 despite being handed only 27 starts.
There is growing speculation that both Fernando Torres and Demba Ba could be sold to make way for new additions.