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Chelsea transfer news: Higuain signing is victory for Sarri over Granovskaia - Burley
GONZALO HIGUAIN joining Chelsea is a victory for manager Maurizio Sarri over the club’s board.
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That is according to ESPN FC pundit and former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley.
Higuain is set to join the Blues on loan for the remainder of the season with an option of another 12 months.
Reports claimed Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia, who is in charge of transfers, was not keen on signing the 31-year-old due to his age.
However, Higuain was Sarri’s No 1 striker target this month after the pair worked together for one season at Napoli.
He has obviously pushed this with the Chelsea hierarchy and they’ve said ‘okay, we’ll try and get this done for you’
Burley has no doubt Higuain will be crucial for Chelsea’s chances of finishing in the top four this season.
He says Alvaro Morata needed replacing after suffering from an unexpected “crisis of confidence”.
And Burley reckons the Higuain arrival is good news for Sarri, claiming it would have been a worry for the Italian if the board did not go all out to sign the Argentine.
“Huge, absolutely,” Burley said of the Higuain deal.
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“Particularly in the predicament that they find themselves with a failed, international, striker as the main target man in Alvaro Morata.
“It’s been a disaster, a disaster way beyond any of us could have envisaged because he’s actually a good player.
“But he’s had a crisis of confidence and what they’re going to get now is a natural goalscorer.
“And two things, the pressure is going to come on from the teams chasing for fourth spot, so clearly that’s going to be a big help there.
“And two is that it’s somewhat a shot in the arm for Sarri because clearly whilst the [Christian] Pulisic signing was a bit of a surprise, this clearly is somebody who the manager wants.
“He has obviously pushed this with the Chelsea hierarchy and they’ve said ‘okay, we’ll try and get this done for you’.
“I think from a managerial point of view, had they not pushed the boat out to get this done for Sarri, that would have been a worry for me from the manager’s perspective.”
Chelsea have until 12pm on Friday to register Higuain so he can play against Arsenal on Saturday (5.30pm).