Juventus have asked Chelsea if they would be willing to buy Gonzalo Higuain as part of their attempts to re-sign Alvaro Morata.

The Serie A club want to lure Morata back to Turin but need to get Argentina striker Higuain off the payroll first.

The 30-year-old, who has scored 55 goals since joining from Napoli for £78million in 2016, earns £125,000-a-week.

Morata has struggled to settle at Stamford Bridge, having arrived for a club-record £58m from Real Madrid last summer on a five-year contract worth around £160,000-a-week.

The 25-year-old scored just 15 times and has been left out of Spain’s squad for the forthcoming World Cup.

Chelsea may be prepared to listen to offers if Morata makes it clear that he wants to leave the west London club.

Juventus initially inquired about a two-year loan with an option to buy, but that is unlikely to be accepted.

Morata, who was at Juventus between 2014 and 2016, was seen talking to their sporting director Fabio Paratici last week.

Chelsea would have to find a replacement should they allow Morata to depart and they are one of several clubs interested in Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, whose agent, Pini Zahavi, has confirmed that he has told the Bundesliga champions that his client wants to move elsewhere this summer.