Chelsea want to complete surprise swap deal for £61million striker ahead of Maurizio Sarri’s arrival

Chelsea are willing to negotiate a deal that would see Alvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuain swap clubs according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Daily Mail).

The report claims that Maurizio Sarri’s potential appointment as the new manager could lure Higuain to Stamford Bridge. After all, the duo has worked together during their time at Napoli.

Higuain might be 30 but he does have a decent goalscoring report. In fact, he notched up 23 goals in all competitions for Juventus last season while Morata could only manage 15 for us.

The 30-year-old Argentine is valued at £61million and it is yet to be seen if we have to add more to make the switch happen.

Alvaro Morata

There has been no contact about the proposed deal so far but the report claims that Massimiliano Allegri is interested in welcoming Morata back to Turin.

Chelsea signed Morata from Real Madrid for a fee of £58m but he severely struggled in the latter half of the previous season and even saw Olivier Giroud replace him in the starting XI.

The Spaniard also missed his spot in the Spain World Cup squad, meaning an exit could be on the cards.

That said, losing Morata would be a major loss and swapping him for Higuain could be a bit of a risk. The Argentine has always scored goals but at 30 years of age, he will not be a long-term option for us.

Read more: Chelsea in talks to sign £27m World Cup star but that could mean the end of £35m pursuit – report

Hence, Chelsea must proceed with caution and perhaps focus on signing a new manager for the time being.