Chelsea transfer news: Talks open to sign 36-goal striker who could command British record fee

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Chelsea have been told that it would cost them a British-record fee to sign Gonzalo Higuain after making an approach for the prolific Napoli hitman, according to Squawka.

Squawka reports that Higuain is incoming manager Antonio Conte’s top choice to lead the Chelsea attack next season, and that the Blues had hoped to get their man for about £42m.

However, Squawka understands that Napoli officials this week quoted the four-time Premier League champions a whopping £65m asking price for the Argentina international.

That would eclipse the sum of £59.7m that Manchester United paid Real Madrid for Angel Di Maria in 2014 – fee reported by BBC Sport. He soon left for Paris Saint-Germain.

Former Madrid forward Higuain enjoyed the best campaign of his career in 2015-16, bagging 36 goals for Napoli. Only Barcelona star Luis Suarez scored more across Europe.

Squawka adds that Chelsea are now preparing a formal bid, but are concerned that Napoli, who want Higuain to sign a new contract, will stick rigidly to their lofty valuation.

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