As Chelsea continue to be linked with a move for Gonzalo Higuain, AC Milan have reportedly set their sights on a January replacement for the Argentine forward.
As noted by Sky Sports, Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso cast doubt over Higuain’s future with the Italian giants on Saturday, as he suggested that the 31-year-old wants to leave.
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It’s added in that report that Higuain has been heavily linked with a reunion with Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea, having enjoyed a productive spell together at Napoli previously.
Given that they’re in a scrap to secure a top-four finish in Serie A this season to secure Champions League qualification, Milan will surely be keen to find a replacement for their experienced forward before even entertaining the idea of letting him cut short his season-long loan spell from Juventus.
If they were to let him go early, that would leave Gattuso with youngster Patrick Cutrone as his only option up front. Although he bagged a brace after coming off the bench in the Coppa Italia clash with Sampdoria on Saturday, that is a heavy burden to place on one striker between now and the summer with the stakes so high.
In turn, La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Milan are potentially set to try and accelerate their pursuit of Genoa forward Krzysztof Piatek in order to fill the void that Higuain could leave behind if he were to depart.
The 23-year-old has scored 19 goals in 21 appearances so far this season, and so it appears as though he could be a sensible addition to lead the line for the Rossoneri.
Should that happen, that will be a boost for Chelsea’s hopes of signing Higuain, although as detailed by Gazzetta dello Sport, they would still have to reach an agreement with Juventus as ultimately Higuain is still owned by the Turin giants, with Milan currently expected to spend a further €36m this summer to make his move to the San Siro a permanent one, as noted by Sky Sports.
