Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri, has dismissed concerns that Gonzalo Higuain could become Chelsea’s latest disappointing striker signing and insists the Argentine is not “a failure”.
Higuain flew to London on Wednesday to undergo a medical and finalise the details of a six-month loan move to Chelsea, who have an option to make the deal permanent next summer if he proves a success at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri had to convince Chelsea that Higuain was the right man to replace struggling Alvaro Morata, who is expected to join Atletico Madrid on loan.
The 31-year-old has endured a disappointing six-month stint at AC Milan, which saw him score eight goals in 22 matches and net just once in his final 12 appearances.
“He wants to win all the time and, in the last five years, he’s only lost his temper twice: with Napoli against Udinese, and with Milan against Juve.
“It’s only because he wants to win. As for failure, he’s still scored [eight] goals in a team that isn’t at the same level as Juventus. I wouldn’t call it failure.
“He played four seasons for Real Madrid, I think. I think he has the right experience to play here.
“We hope he brings goals, that he starts scoring for us.
“He’s also very good at other aspects, other than just goals, but that’s what we are hoping for. He has had some difficulties recently, but we’re hoping we can raise him back to his best form.
“He’s a very strong striker. Especially in my first season in Naples, he did very well. He scored 36 goals in 35 matches in Serie A. That season he scored 38 goals. So he did very, very well. For sure, he is one of the best strikers in my career.
“I think the club agree with me when I told them my opinion about [how to improve] the team. So the January market is very difficult, especially for a striker. It’s very difficult in January to find one of the most important strikers in the world, so the club is working very well,” Sarri told a media conference on Wednesday.
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