Gonzalo Higuain is now a Chelsea player having completed his loan deal from Juventus. The 31-year-old striker, who has netted 237 league goals in 423 appearances across his career to date, will move on loan until the end of the season with the Blues having an obligation to buy him in the summer. But it might not be as good a deal as it seems on the surface. Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has previous knowledge of the player and under him the Argentine netted an impressive 36 Serie A goals for Napoli in 2015/16. This saw Higuain win the Capocannoniere – the Italian top-flight’s Golden Boot award – and equal…

Gonzalo Higuain has said the chance to work with Maurizio Sarri again was too good an opportunity to pass on after signing on loan for Chelsea. Higuain cut his spell at AC Milan short to finally complete his move to Stamford Bridge on a six-month deal and will earn an incredible £270,000 a week at Stamford Bridge after signing on Wednesday. The striker played under Chelsea boss Sarri while at Napoli during the 2015/16 season, broke the Serie A goal-scoring record with 36 goals that year and expressed his delight at being managed by the Italian again. “It was an opportunity that when it presented itself I couldn’t miss out on. I’m…

Here are the top biggest transfer stories and latest football headlines from Friday’s papers and online… Liverpool target Timo Werner has been offered a new contract to stay at German club RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old Germany striker has also been linked with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. (Bild) James Rodriguez’s foster father has said the Colombian forward is considering a return to parent club Real Madrid, despite interest from Arsenal. (Evening Standard) Marko Arnautovic is back in training West Ham and could play against AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup, after his proposed big-money move to China collapsed. (The Sun) Arsenal could hire Roma’s director of football Monchi as their new technical director. The…

Cardiff’s first fixture since the disappearance of striker Emiliano Sala finished in a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal – but the scoreline scarcely mattered. The missing Sala and pilot David Ibbotson were remembered throughout a sombre evening in north London, played out in torrential rain. Relegation-threatened Cardiff threatened an upset by seizing on the Gunners’ defensive uncertainty, but Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s stoppage-time strike came too late. Unai Emery’s side prevailed through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half penalty and Alexandre Lacazette’s solo strike to move level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea. Two days after Sala’s transfer to Cardiff in a £15million deal from Nantes, the Piper PA-46 Malibu plane carrying the Argentinian striker and Ibbotson…

Southampton‘s out on loan defender Wesley Hoedt endured a nightmare start to life in LaLiga after being sent off on his debut for Celta Vigo. The defender was shown a second yellow card for dangerous play after a coming together with a Real Valladolid player. He was furious with the referee’s decision as his side succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in the match. Hoedt signed for Los Celticos on loan after being made surplus to requirements by new Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Dutchman was a regular under Mark Hughes but hadn’t started a match for the new manager, and he signed for the Spanish outfit with the option to move…

West Ham legend Tony Cottee has lavished praise on the ‘fantastic’ Felipe Anderson – but believes the Brazilian needs to show more consistency to his game. Anderson, 25, signed for the Hammers in the summer for a club record fee of £35million and has produced some real moments of magic this campaign. He has eight goals and two assists in the Premier League so far, including a six-minute brace to complete a turnaround victory at Southampton in December. But his form has somewhat faded lately, having failed to score or register an assist in the five appearances he’s made since his St Mary’s heroics. And Cottee, who scored 115 league goals…

A section of Manchester United fans on Twitter criticised Ole Gunnar Solskajaer after seeing his team to face Arsenal on Friday night. The Gunners host their fierce rivals at the Emirates in the fourth round of the FA Cup at 7.55pm, a game you can hear exclusively live on talkSPORT. While both managers opted to pick strong sides for the highly-anticipated clash, the forward selection by the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ left some fans feeling rather frustrated. Dynamic duo Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were left out of the side and replaced by Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku. Signed by Jose Mourinho last season, Sanchez and Lukaku have endured tough starts to…

Ivan Perisic has asked to leave Inter Milan after the Italian club rejected Arsenal’s bid to sign the forward on loan until the end of the season. The Gunners are hoping to bring Perisic to the Emirates this month with an option to make the deal permanent for £34.5million in the summer. They have reportedly offered an initial £4.4million to loan the Croatia international, but according to Sky in Italy, Inter have rejected the bid. Perisic has since submitted a transfer request as he wants to leave Inter. Guiseppe Marotta, the club’s CEO, said: “We will listen to the request of Perisic, he has put in a transfer request; we…

Gonzalo Higuain will make his Premier League debut when Chelsea face Bournemouth on Wednesday. The Argentine striker had his first taste of English football in the Blues’ FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, but now takes his place in the full first choice XI. Higuain will appear alongside Eden Hazard for the first time with Pedro taking the other position in Maurizio Sarri’s forward line – Willian drops to the bench. Emerson also starts with Marcos Alonso demoted to the substitutes. For Bournemouth, Callum Wilson and Jefferson Lerma are notable absentees while Junior Stanislas and Andrew Surman feature from the beginning. Ex-Chelsea youth starlet Dominic Solanke sits among…

Arsenal and Manchester City have joined Paris Saint-Germain in the race to sign Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye, according to reports. On Tuesday, the 29-year-old handed in a transfer request at Goodison Park in a bid to force through a move to the Ligue 1 champions. However, Gueye may now have to make a choice about where he wants to play his football as interest in the midfielder has reportedly increased. According to Sky Sports, Premier League duo Arsenal and Manchester City want to sign Gueye this window. PSG had a bid of £21.5million rejected for the Senegal international, so bids will presumably have to surpass that total. The Toffees confirmed…