AC Milan Director Leonardo responds to speculation linking Gonzalo Higuain to Chelsea


AC Milans Sporting Director Leonardo has insisted that the club have not received any offers from Chelsea for their on-loan striker Gonzalo Higuain.
The 31-year-old joined Milan on a season-long deal from Juventus in the summer following their purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo but he has struggled to find his top form scoring five Serie A goals for the club.
Higuain enjoyed a far more productive spell at Napoli under Maurizio Sarri and has been linked with a move to Chelsea in January as they bid to solve their striker problem.
Neither Alvaro Morata nor Olivier Giroud appear to have gained Sarris trust with Eden Hazard starting the clubs last four Premier League games up front.
Leonardo has played down speculation linking Higuain to Chelsea but admitted that things had not worked out as expected thus far.
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It is difficult to manage a striker when he doesnt score, he said. Higuain must find the real himself, he is living in a different situation for him, he left Juventus and he is here on loan.
He is very important for us and he knows it.
We havent received any offer from Chelsea – no one has asked us for him and he didnt ask to leave. Anyway, at AC Milan we keep only the players who want to stay here.
More: Football
Chelseas pursuit of Higuain is complicated by the fact that he is currently only on loan at Milan, although they do have the option to purchase him permanently for a reported fee of £32.6m.
Milan are also believed to have paid £16.3m to take him on loan from Juventus, who splashed out £75m to sign him from Napoli in 2016 after he enjoyed a sensational season under Sarri.
In 2015-16, Higuain scored the most goals ever in a single Serie A season, netting 36 times in 35 games as Napoli finished runners-up to Juventus in the table.
A swap deal with Morata, who has been left out of Sarris last four matchday squads, has been mooted.
More: Chelsea FC
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