Chelsea have 'reached an agreement' with Juventus to sign Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain for £53million.

The Stamford Bridge club are poised to appoint Maurizio Sarri as their new boss after lengthy negotiations and have begun to press ahead with his transfer targets.

Antonio Conte is still in charge, but Chelsea are hopeful of resolving the situation soon and want to ensure Sarri's transfer plans are carried out with just over four weeks left until the Premier League season starts.

One of those targets is Higuain, who Sarri has admired for a long time, and according to Sport Mediaset, Chelsea have struck a deal with the Italian champions to sign him once his appointment is finalised.

Chelsea have agreed a fee of £53m with Juventus to sign Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain played under the Italian at Napoli where he broke the Serie A scoring record in a single season, hitting 36 goals in the 2015-16 campaign.

The 59-year-old was said to be angered after Higuain left Napoli to join Juventus, but admitted he was still fond of him and wouldn't rule out working with him again.

The pair built up a strong rapport during their time together at Napoli and that is understood to have played a major role in persuading Higuain to leave Juventus.

The Juventus hitman is a transfer target of incoming Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri

The pair established a strong bond during their time at Napoli and Sarri wants him at Chelsea

Personal terms still need to be agreed but the Argentinian is expected to sign on the dotted line for Chelsea in the coming weeks once he has returned from holiday.

Chelsea had initially explored the possibility of doing a straight swap deal for the striker with Alvaro Morata going the other way, but Juventus rebuffed that approach despite holding an interest in the Spaniard.

Juve are yet to make an official bid for Morata, though the two clubs are currently in talks over defender Daniele Rugani, who will cost Chelsea in the region of £35m.