Chelsea Transfer News: Gonzalo Higuain Prioritised Amid Striker Sale Rumours

New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is reportedly ready to sell both Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud in order to reunite with former Napoli talisman Gonzalo Higuain this summer.

The Juventus striker has been linked with a summer exit, and ex-Napoli mentor Sarri could be the man to provide it, with the Mirror's Darren Lewis reporting Morata and Giroud could be shifted to make room.

Morata, 25, was brought to Stamford Bridge from Real Madrid for an initial £58 million fee last summer but already "wants out," according to Lewis. January arrival Giroud, meanwhile, could be sold to free up some funds.

The Premier League transfer window shuts on August 9, and the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law said in order for Higuain to arrive, Morata must go:

Cristiano Ronaldo recently joined Juventus and will demand a certain portion of the attacking spotlight, meaning his opportunities under manager Massimiliano Allegri may not be as they once were.

Sarri arrived at Napoli in 2015 and worked with Higuain during his final season in Naples. That also happened to be the campaign in which he scored 36 times in 35 Serie A games, matching the record for goals in an Italian top-flight season.

That's the kind of form Sarri would be hoping to coax back out of the Juve man in the event he arrives in south-west London. Football writer David Amoyal believes there is a good chance Higuain will leave Turin this summer:

Giroud made the most of Morata's injury troubles towards the end of last season and ended the season level pegging with the Spain international for the striker role, having initially been brought in as cover.

Higuain, 31 in December, is coming off the back of his lowest-scoring season in Italy. The 23 goals he netted across all competitions—16 in Serie A—is his worst total since leaving Real Madrid in the summer of 2013.

Sending Morata back to former club Juventus in part-exchange for Higuain would be the simplest route for Chelsea, but the Bianconeri may not have a great desire to re-sign the Spaniard, who scored just 11 Premier League goals in his maiden campaign in England.

A back injury and struggles for form in front of goal looked to take their toll, although writer Jenny Brown has suggested Morata is still the more valuable chess piece in this saga:

But Sarri appears intent on linking back up with Higuain, having already added one of his old Napoli team-mates, Jorginho, to his squad from the Stadio San Paolo.

Chelsea would still have striker reserves in Michy Batshuayi and youth product Callum Hudson-Odoi if Morata and Giroud were to leave, with Higuain seemingly the short-term fix Sarri has in mind to solve the Blues' woes up top.