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Three reasons why Juventus should keep Gonzalo Higuain this summer

By John Vaccaro

Chelsea's Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain gestures the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 10, 2019. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Chelsea's Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain gestures the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 10, 2019. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain gestures the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 10, 2019. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Chelsea’s Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain gestures the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 10, 2019. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) /

3. Where is he going?

There’s an old Andrew “Dice” Clay joke:

“Three blind mice, see how they run…

Where the (redacted) are they going?”

That pretty much sums up Gonzalo Higuain’s current situation. Teams aren’t exactly fighting for his signature right now. They weren’t last year either, which led to Juve disappointingly settling on a loan with a 36 million euro option to buy that landed them the even more disappointing Leonardo Bonucci.

That loan lasted a poor first half of the year before Milan terminated it. Juventus was lucky that Chelsea needed a striker and had an Higuain admirer in Sarri as their manager.

With how Higuain’s last season has been viewed around the world I honestly just don’t see where Juventus could try to offload him and hope to get a decent price for him. It’s unlikely that a team competing for a Champions League place would be interested in him.

Everybody else would be looking to get him cheaply based on his last season. That means that Juventus would have to be offloading him just to get rid of him and I simply don’t believe he has reached that point in his career.

One could argue that his last season wasn’t entirely his fault. Milan’s midfield was completely

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depleted by injuries for a long stretch of his time there and he never got to play with Lucas Paqueta, who ended up being a big part of Milan’s turnaround. Then he got sent to a Chelsea squad that had issues of their own and at that point he was already out of form. Unfortunately, that isn’t how teams looking for a striker will see Higuain’s performance last year.

At worst, Juventus should give him 6 months as an audition for other teams. If he plays well then Juve can get a more reasonable price for him. If he continues to struggle then his price probably still won’t fall much further. It also gives Juve some cover if Mandzukic leaves and Kean ends up not being ready to take over as “the guy” yet (I think he is, but it’s better to be safe for now).

Next. 6 players Juventus should sell during the summer transfer window. dark

Maurizio Sarri has said that he wants to revive Higuain and Juventus should give him a chance. It could just pay off for them.

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