Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has ruled out the possibility of the club signing Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain in the January transfer window, Sky Sports reports.
Recent reports have suggested the Blues have had a £50 million bid rejected for Higuain, who joined Napoli from Real Madrid for £34.5 million in the summer, with a follow-up bid expected.
The Argentina international, 26, was wanted by Mourinho in the summer, but the club opted to bring in cost effective alternatives, André Schürrle and Samuel Eto’o.
With the Blues’ strikers struggling to find their goal-scoring form, reports linking Higuain with a move to Stamford Bridge have resurfaced.
However, Mourinho has played down the aforementioned speculation, insisting the 26-year-old Argentine ace is ‘impossible to get.’
“He moved from Real Madrid to Napoli six months ago and he’s doing very well, he’s adapting very well to Italy,” said Mourinho.
“Napoli is a club which normally doesn’t sell. In the last years, they sold one player a year, when they felt it was not possible to keep them.
“They want to win the Scudetto, they want to win the Europa League. I don’t believe they’re interested in selling Higuain.
“Why should we be interested in someone we believe it is impossible to get?”
The Blues strike quartet, which consists of Andre Schürrle, Demba Ba, Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o, has tallied 10 goals and four assists in 51 English Premier League appearances this term.
That equals the goal-scoring tally of Loïc Remy and, if multiplied by two, would equal the tally of in-form Liverpool talisman Luis Suárez, who is 1/8 to win the Premier League Golden Boot award.
Traore joins Vitesse on loan
In other news, Chelsea have loaned Bertrand Traore to Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem until the end of the season, according to the club’s official website, Chelseafc.com.
The Burkina Faso international, 18, joined the Premier League outfit from ASF Bobo-Dioulasso on New Year’s Day, but will now move to the GelreDome.
At Vitesse, the 18-year-old midfielder will team-up with Blues youngsters Christian Atsu, Cristián Cuevas, Lucas Piazón and Patrick van Aanholt.
“The 18-year-old Burkina Faso international signed for Chelsea following a successful trial period with the club during the summer, and now heads to the Netherlands to gain first-team experience.
“Traore will link up with a Vitesse side which is currently second in the Eredivisie, on the same points as leaders Ajax.”
Additionally, Chelsea have recalled Gael Kakuta and Sam Hutchinson from Vitesse.
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