Jose Mourinho dismisses reports of £50m approach for Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain

Gonzalo Higuain

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has denied claims that his side have made a move for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain, insisting that there has been no bid and will be no bid. Reports suggested that Chelsea had had a £50 million bid for Higuain rejected and were readying a second offer, but Mourinho told reporters that such speculation is wide of the mark.

When asked if there was any truth in the reports, he replied: “No.” Has there been any bid? “No.” Will there be a bid: “No.”

“Napoli want to win the Scudetto, they want to win the Europa League. I don’t believe they’re interested in selling Higuain. [He is] a player I know we cannot get.”

One player that has been linked with a move is Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata.

The Spaniard has been a peripheral figure so far this season and has been linked with a number of clubs, the latest being Higuain’s Napoli. Earlier this week Mourinho admitted that should Mata want to leave then his door is open, but claimed that the midfielder is still in his plans.

“[Mata trained] in a fantastic way,” he said. “I think he is focused on [when I said] ‘I don’t want him to leave.”

Higuain has exactly the same shot accuracy as Chelsea striker Fernando Torres (58%) and has also created the same number of chances (13). However Higuain has scored nine goals, with Torres netting just three.