If Chelsea are to acquiesce to Sarri’s request and bring in Gonzalo Higuaín for him this January (after rejecting a similar proposition back in the summer), we will have to get a bit more creative than a 6- or even an 18-month loan.

That’s according Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard who reports this morning that Juventus have knocked back a couple loan bids from the Blues as they did not involve even an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season (like the arrangement Juventus have currently with AC Milan) — Juventus have been looking to offload the 31-year-old’s massive contract since at least the summer, if not longer.

Juventus reject Chelsea loan bid for Higuain



✍ @sjstandardsporthttps://t.co/xJg4H6zf7Z — Standard Sport (@standardsport) January 14, 2019

Juve would apparently prefer if Chelsea simply took over the loan arrangement from AC Milan, which carries with it a £32m buy-option. But since the option is non-binding, it’s tough to see how this could be such a massive sticking point for the Old Lady. Milan certainly aren’t going to pay it either, so it’s not like they are giving up income by signing off a switch to Chelsea for the 31-year-old.

But maybe that’s too logical for Silly Season. And so we do the dance.