Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain has completed his transfer from Juventus to Chelsea after cutting short his loan spell with AC Milan.
The former Real Madrid striker has signed a six month loan deal at Chelsea.
Speaking to the official Chelsea website after signing for the Blues, Higuain who will wear the number nine shirt, said: ‘When the opportunity to join Chelsea presented itself I had to take it.
Our new number 9️⃣…
Get yours! 👇#HiguaIN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 23, 2019
“It’s a team I’ve always liked that has a lot of history, a wonderful stadium and they play in the Premier League, a league I’ve always wanted to play in.
“I now hope I can give back that trust Chelsea have shown me out on the pitch. I can’t wait to start and I hope to adapt as soon as possible.”
Director Marina Granovskaia added: “Gonzalo was our number one target in this transfer window and arrives with a proven record at the highest level.
“He has previously worked with Maurizio to great effect and is familiar with how the coach likes to play.
“This was not an easy deal for us to do because of the numerous parties involved, but we are delighted we were able to make it happen and we look forward to seeing the impact Gonzalo will make for us in the second half of the season.”
Born in France, Higuain began his career with Argentine club River Plate, before a transfer to Real Madrid in January 2007 for €12 million.
His time in Spain saw him win honours including three La Liga titles, and score 107 goals in 190 league appearances.
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He joined Italian side Napoli for €40 million in July 2013, where he won the Coppa Italia during his first season.
In the 2015–16 season, he scored 36 league goals, winning the Capocannoniere title and equalling Gino Rossetti’s 87-year-old record for goals in an Italian top-flight season.
As a result of his goal scoring exploits in Naples, Italian champions Juventus signed him for €90 million in 2016, making him the most expensive South American footballer of all time (until Neymar’s transfer to PSG in 2017); his transfer fee was the highest ever paid by an Italian team (until Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Juventus in 2018) and also the highest of a player transferring within any domestic league.
He won domestic doubles in his first two seasons with Juventus, also reaching the 2017 Champions League final with the club. In 2018, he was loaned to Milan.
