Reports: AC Milan have bid accepted for Chelsea target

What's the rumour?

Juventus has accepted a bid from Serie A rivals, AC Milan for Gonzalo Higuain. The bid consists of a season-long loan for €20 million with an option to buy thereafter for a further €35 million. According to the Italian source, Gianluca di Marzio, Juventus are happy for Milan to open contract talks with the Chelsea target ahead of the proposed move.

In case you didn't know...

Higuain has been high on Chelsea's summer shopping list over the past few weeks, but the London club has failed to submit a concrete offer to Juventus for the 30-year-old striker's services. Having worked with new Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri at Napoli, it was expected that the Argentine would make his way to Stamford Bridge this summer.

However, AC Milan has been keeping close tabs on the situation and swooped in with a bid of their own. The former giants of European football are in the process of rebuilding following another takeover this summer and are looking for a marquee signing. Having already tabled a large contract offer to attract Antonio Conte to the San Siro, Milan are now hoping to bolster their strikeforce with the capture of Higuain on a year-long loan deal.

The heart of the matter

While reports suggest that Juventus are happy with Milan's offer, a meeting is yet to take place between representatives of I Rossoneri and Nicolas Higuain (brother and agent of Gonzalo). The Old Lady's signing of Cristiano Ronaldo this summer has left the Argentine resigned to leaving the Allianz Stadium in search of first-team football.

However, Higuain will want assurances that Milan will follow through with the €35 million purchase option at the end of the loan deal and will guarantee him a starting place in the team over the next few years.

Rumour Probability: 8/10

With the fee and terms between Juventus and AC Milan agreed, there is only the matter of I Rossoneri meeting the wage and playing demands of Higuain. It seems unlikely that Milan would bother making the offer if they didn't think they could meet the player's demands and so we can expect this transfer to happen bar any intervention from Chelsea.

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What's Next?

A meeting is scheduled between Nicolas Higuain and Leonardo, AC Milan's new director of football, in the next day or two. Leonardo will try to reassure Higuain that a move to the San Siro is in his best interests and the structure of the deal is necessary to balance the books. If Higuain is convinced during these talks, we could see an official announcement before the end of the week.

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