Chris Sutton believes Gonzalo Higuain can fit in seamlessly at Chelsea and solve the club’s problems up front.
Higuain, 31, completed his loan move to the Blues this week, introduced to the Stamford Bridge crowd before Thursday’s EFL Cup victory over Tottenham with his debut likely to come this weekend against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup.
Chelsea are the lowest scorers in the top six of the Premier League with 40 goals – with Alvaro Morata and OIivier Giroud notching just six of those.
Former Blues striker Sutton believes Higuain can rectify that problem and insists the Argentine will soon dispel any concerns over adapting to the English game.
Sutton, promoting The Sportsman’s Perfect 10 game, said: “Higuain’s a player that Sarri knows well and he had his best season under him at Napoli where he scored 36 goals.
In Pictures | Chelsea vs Tottenham | 24/01/2019
"He’s 31 years old and does go against the grain of Chelsea’s signings policy, but I think he’s vital. He will be a focal point and his goal scoring is proven.
"I know people will say that he’s not played in England before, but he’s scored goals at the top level.
"The fact he’s played under Sarri, you’d think he’d fit in pretty seamlessly.”
Chelsea have not always enjoyed success as far as high profile signings up front are concerned, with Morata joining the likes of Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres in failing to light up Stamford Bridge.
“Every situation when you’re spending big wages is a gamble, but it’s a calculated gamble, it’s a gamble of a player that Sarri knows inside out,” Sutton continued.
“There’s a reason why he doesn’t like Morata, but a bit of a head scratcher why he is doesn’t like Giroud I think.”
Chelsea booked their place in the EFL Cup final after a penalty shootout victory over Tottenham on Thursday. It was a positive end to a challenging week for Sarri, who criticised his players in the wake of a meek defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League last Sunday.
Eden Hazard was among those singled out by his manager with the Belgian labelled “more an individual player than a leader” whose “potential is higher than his performances.”
“I don’t get it, I don’t understand that,” Sutton said of Sarri’s decision to go public with his criticism.
"I don't think there doesn’t need to be the panic at Chelsea. I think the first half of the season went pretty well and there’s be a bit of a blip, but when you come out and criticise players publically it normally ends in tears.
"It will be interesting to see how the Chelsea players react, but history tells us that it doesn’t normally end well.”
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