Giorgio Chiellini would be sad to see Gonzalo Higuain leave Juventus this summer, with the veteran centre-forward linked to both Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent days, in quotes translated by Football Italia.
An eight-time Scudetto winner and 2006 World champion has shared a dressing room with some of the greatest footbaler of the 21st century. And you can certainly include Higuain in that illustrious array of team-mates past and present.
A former Real Madrid and Napoli striker, Higuain is still going strong at the age of 32, even if his record-breaking days appear to be behind him.
The all-action Argentine has taken a backseat role to Cristiano Ronaldo in Turin but, just four years ago, he scribed his name into the history books by scoring 38 times during the 2015/16 campaign – the most goals produced by a single player in 122 years of Serie A football.
Now, the Express claims that Wolves and Newcastle are both willing to offer Higuain a second chance to prove himself in the Premier League despite that rather underwhelming spell at Chelsea a year ago.
But, given the choice, Chiellini would love to see one of his most affable teammates commit his future to Juventus for another few seasons.
“Gonzalo’s a stand-up guy. A great, demanding but great guy: he always needs to feel confidence around him,” Chiellini said in his new autobiography, serialised by Football Italia.
“I love him, I like his Latino effusiveness. He’s my teammate and a sensitive person: this makes him ‘feel’ things a lot, maybe too much in some games.
“However, we’re made the way we are. We can only work with the raw materials that have been given to us by our parents. That means that we can do a lot, but not everything, and that imprinting carries a weight.”
Higuain might have lost a yard of pace or two in recent years but a player with his intuitive movement in the final third remains a terrifying proposition for defenders everywhere.
The 2010 World Cup champion has contributed 16 goals and assists to Juve’s cause this season and looked as sharp and wily as ever before the campaign was put on ice.
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