Clubs hungry for Higuainn as trans transfer deal comes close to record
You might not have been surprised to see the biggest transfer deal of the summer include Juventus but if you predicted that it would be because the Old Lady was buying Gonzalo Higuain rather than selling Paul Pogba then you should spend next season putting your money where your mouth is. You’ll do OK.
Fair enough, you might only need to stump up for a couple of days but, as expected as Pogba’s return to Old Trafford has become, who would ever have thought that Higuain would for a time be the world’s second most expensive footballer ever? Not many. Even seasoned soccer fans. Even still, that’s what seems to be about to happen given that the French- born striker has apparently already completed a medical in Madrid ahead of a move to the team that has been champions of Serie A for the last five seasons.
The figure involved ( 94.7 million euros in order to beat his release clause with the Naples club) is eyewatering. Not least because the Argentine No. 9 is exactly that, a No. 9, which is an unfashionable position, to say the least, in this post- Guardiola world of false nines and nine- and- a- halfs.
Forgetting all that, Higuain will be 29 in December. Turning 30, once regarded as the peak for footballers, has since become an age that is commonly regarded as the beginning of the end when it comes to modern soccer’s all- important metric of resale value.
Who wants a player that can’t ensure money back in your pocket? Well, everyone as it happens. First, those who have more money than sense – even when it comes to the Back to the Future II- reality of soccer, the Chinese Super League, where apparently Hebei China Fortune FC offered Higuain a mind- boggling 800,000 pounds ($ 1 million) per month just a month ago, a move that would have made him the highest player of all, which the Argentine turned down.
The other suckers happen to be the best clubs in Europe. Juventus, the standout team of Serie A, head the list given that they are said to be days away from buying him. Arsenal and Atletico Madrid were both said to have bid – but not met Napoli’s asking price – for the striker, as both see him as the missing link in their quest for silverware.
Why not? Last season Higuain scored a record 36 goals in Serie A. But then again he added to his reputation as a liability at the very top level. Despite scoring double what he did the previous season, the Argentine has a reputation as a choker and so far it seems for a good reason. He missed good chances in the 2014 World Cup, 2015 Copa America and this summer’s Copa America Centenario. He also missed penalties in the shootouts of some of those games and other vital matches for Napoli and Real Madrid.
The questions is if kids want to grow up to be Higuain? Perhaps in Naples before he left. The notoriously passionate Neopolitans took to the city’s streets to burn his shirt and tar up posters of the striker on Saturday night.