Chelsea finally lock up Higuain on loan with €36M purchase option

Maurizio Sarri has his man.

Gonzalo Higuain's move to Chelsea was finally made official on Wednesday, with the Argentine striker cutting short his loan at AC Milan from Juventus to join the Blues until the end of the season.

Chelsea also possess an €18-million option to extend the loan for another year until June 2020, or they can choose to purchase Higuain outright for a fee of €36 million, according to Juventus' press release.

The switch reunites Higuain with Sarri, who oversaw the forward's record 36-goal campaign with Napoli during the 2015-16 Serie A season.

Higuain's swap of Milan for London also enables the Rossoneri to replace him with Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek from Genoa. Furthermore, Chelsea can now part with outcast Alvaro Morata, who will reportedly be sent on loan to Atletico Madrid with the opportunity to make the move permanent.

After their extravagant €100-million acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo over the summer, Juventus opted to part ways with Higuain, sending him to Milan in a season-long swap that included an immediate €18-million loan fee and a €36-million buy option, a near guarantee to be exercised by Milan at season's end. His Rossoneri tenure kicked off on a positive note, too, as Higuain found the net five times over his first seven competitive matches with the club. He has since cooled off considerably, however, scoring just twice for Gennaro Gattuso's side in its last 14 matches.

Adding him to Chelsea's lineup will also likely push Eden Hazard back to the left wing after Sarri opted to deploy the Belgian star in a false nine role in recent matches. Higuain's inclusion may also provide a renewed spark for the west London club after Sarri blasted his players' mentality following Saturday's 2-0 loss to Arsenal.

Though the Blues could use Higuain's services immediately, Sarri confirmed earlier in the day the frontman won't play in Thursday's League Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur due to missing the registration deadline. He'll have to wait until Sunday at the earliest to make his Chelsea debut when they face Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round of the FA Cup.