Gonzalo Higuaín will not play for Chelsea against Spurs

OneFootball

Dan Burke·23 January 2019

Gonzalo Higuaín will not play for Chelsea against Spurs

Gonzalo Higuaín is still hours away from signing for Chelsea and will not play against Tottenham in the EFL Cup semi-final on Thursday, Blues boss Maurizio Sarri has confirmed.

Higuaín arrived in London for a medical on Wednesday morning and the Blues were hoping to have him signed by 12pm GMT – the deadline for him to be registered in time to feature against Spurs.

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But speaking at his pre-match press conference, Sarri revealed that the Argentine striker was not signed in time and will now have to wait until Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday for his debut.

Sarri says Higuain is a few hours away from signing his contract at Chelsea. He says he hopes the striker can start scoring straightaway, but he says there is plenty more to his game than goals. He hopes he can get him back to his best form. #CHETOT
– Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Sarri says it is not possible for Higuain to play against Tottenham tomorrow after the midday deadline passed before the move has been completed. #CHETOT
– Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Chelsea trail Mauricio Pochettino’s side 1-0 from the first leg and both sides will be vying to book their spot in next month’s final, with their opponents highly likely to be Manchester City.

If Higuaín does complete his move to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, his arrival is expected to trigger the departure of Álvaro Morata on loan to Atlético Madrid.

That means Olivier Giroud could start up front against Spurs, unless Sarri opts to deploy Eden Hazard or Pedro as a false nine.