Juventus knock back Chelsea’s £88m bid for striker Gonzalo Higuain

Chelsea have reportedly had an £88m bid rejected in their attempt to sign Argentina international striker Gonzalo Higuain, according to Tuttosport.

The Premier League champions, who completed the £40m signing of AS Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko on Saturday, have been freshly linked with a mega-money move for the Juventus hitman this summer.

The 29-year-old, who has 68 international caps for his country, scored an impressive 32 goals and provided five assists in 55 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A champions last season.

Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain.

Higuain, who only joined Juve last July following his switch from Italian rivals Napoli, has netted an astonishing 95 Italian top-flight strikes in just 142 outings between the two clubs.

After missing out on re-signing Everton forward Romelu Lukaku to Premier League rivals Manchester United earlier this summer, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte’s search for a new star striker has led to the Argentine’s services, despite seeing their initial bid being turned down.