Report: Chelsea Eyeing Juventus' Gonzalo Higuain in Alvaro Morata Swap Deal

Chelsea are reportedly preparing a proposal to sign Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus in a swap deal with Alvaro Morata.

According to MailOnline's Will Griffee, Maurizio Sarri is widely expected to take up the manager's role at Chelsea this summer and has picked out Higuain as a target.

Griffee cited La Gazzetta dello Sport, who noted the potential swap deal and said Morata would be open to a return to Juve after struggling in his debut Premier League season.

There has yet to be direct contact between the two clubs, but Griffee said "intermediaries have opened up a dialogue" and Old Lady manager Massimiliano Allegri would be open to having Morata back in his squad.

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Spaniard Morata spent two successful seasons at Juve between 2014 and 2016 before Real Madrid activated his buy-back clause for the 2016-17 campaign and then sold him to Chelsea the following summer.

The forward started his Blues career in brilliant fashion as he netted six goals in his first six Premier League appearances, but he then added only five more in 25 subsequent outings as Chelsea came fifth in 2017-18.

Per Italian football writer David Amoyal, Morata is keen to depart Stamford Bridge despite only spending a season at the club:

According to Griffee, Juve value Higuain, 30, at £61 million, so it may be that Chelsea will attempt to broker a straight swap deal as they look for a new striker.

Sarri managed Higuain for the 2015-16 season at Napoli before the Argentina international departed for Juve.

In that campaign, he netted 36 goals in 35 Serie A appearances, so it is little surprise Sarri is reportedly eager to work with him again.

There may, though, be concerns about swapping a forward in Morata who should, at 25, be reaching the peak years of his career for a player who is arguably past his best, or will be sooner rather than later.