Milan reportedly looking to cut Higuain loose over FFP issues

Gonzalo Higuain might be victim of the UEFA Financial Fair Play sanctions on AC Milan, if reports are to be believed about the Argentina striker who is currently on loan from Juventus.

Multiple reports suggest that Milan are planning to not take up the purchase option for Higuain after the UEFA penalties were finally handed down yesterday. The fines themselves weren’t the issue, but the ruling that stiffer penalties would be enforced if Milan were not able to show how they would be able to break even by 2021.

Milan’s purchase option on Higuain is reportedly €36 million, which is an already expensive amount for a player who is 31 years old, but adding in his wages plus the €18 million loan fee, and you start to understand the reluctance that Elliot Management, the owners of Milan, have about finalizing the deal with UEFA still taking a hard look at the books and how the team exactly proposes to break even.

The deal for Higuain was always an expensive gamble, and with Lucas Paqueta arriving in January, plus rumored deals as Milan look to replace a number of injured players in the winter transfer window, it appears that ownership has decided to spend the money elsewhere instead of on Higuain.

Patrick Cutrone has been almost as prolific as Higuain, and while the young Italy striker isn’t nearly as accomplished as Higuain, he could be handed a lone striker role after basically forcing a formation change to a 4-4-2 with his excellent play this season.

It’s also being reported that Chelsea might be interested in Higuain’s services, as Alvaro Morata isn’t impressing again for the London club and Maurizio Sarri allegedly keen to bring Higuain to Stamford Bridge. Higuain had his best season of his career under Sarri at Napoli, and the Italian manager could be looking to get a known quantity in to help fire Chelsea up the table.