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A new Argentine has arrived at Stamford Bridge. It is Gonzalo Higuain. The man comes with a contrasting reputation; he is respected in Europe. But that’s not the case when it comes to his nation. Higuain will be neither forgotten nor forgiven by his countrymen for the big chance that he missed in the 2014 World Cup Final. But his goalscoring prowess can never be questioned when it comes to club football. The former Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus and AC Milan centre-forward comes with an illustrious CV. So here’s a look at three things that can change at Chelsea, following Higuain’s arrival at Chelsea.
The lingering Giroud-Morata problem
The chasm created by the departure of Diego Costa was difficult to fill. But Chelsea tried to fill that void first by signing Alvaro Morata, and then Olivier Giroud. But, unfortunately, both have failed to live up to the goalscoring standards that were expected of them. Giroud has scored a meagre 3 goals in the 2017/18 season in 13 appearances (out of which 7 were substitutions) and a solitary goal in the current season in 18 appearances after joining Chelsea. He has taken 22 shots with a shot accuracy of 32%, and the biggest irony is that the solitary goal came from a header. When it comes to Morata, in his 47 appearances for the Blues, he has managed to net only 16 times, with 11 coming in the previous season and 5 in the current one. So Chelsea’s centre-forward problem has been a teething issue, which is where Higuain’s goal-scoring ability can come in handy.
Over-reliance on Hazard
It’s no secret that Chelsea has been too reliant on Hazard when it comes to putting the ball at the back of the net. Given that they are now currently sitting at 4th on the Premier League table, they have scored the least number of goals this season among the top 6 teams – 40. The ineffectiveness of starting with Giroud or Morata is so palpable that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been compelled on several occasions to start with Hazard on the 'False 9' position. It is needless to say that it has hindered Hazard’s fluidity as compared to when he plays in his natural left flank, combining with the overlapping Marcos Alonso. This has also affected Willian’s combination play with Hazard. Chelsea and Sarri can look to gradually resolve these issues once Higuain fits into the number 9 position and starts delivering in front of goal, which, in turn, will take the load off Hazard.
Sarri’s faith in Higuain
Even though he is despised back home in Argentina, Higuain has scored 122 goals in 264 games for Real, 92 in 147 for Napoli and 55 in 105 for Juventus. The Argentine forward has won five league titles (in Italy and Spain) and four cups. Under Sarri, he also went on to score the most number of goals in a single Serie A season in 2015/16, when Sarri was managing Napoli. Higuain scored a staggering 36 goals in that season. In Sarri’s system, the wide players have the most workload, i.e pressing the opponents. And in this system, Higuain will act as a channel, hold the ball up, link play and score. So having managed Higuain, earlier, Sarri knows very well what he is doing. If the combination succeeds, then Chelsea can be assured of cementing a top-four finish at the end of the season, and a prolonged career for Sarri at Stamford Bridge.
