Chelsea face race against time for Higuain to be available for Tottenham clash

Chelsea would need to complete a deal to sign Gonzalo Higuain by noon today in order for him to be eligible to play in the Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Tottenham.

Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is keen to bring in the striker, who played under him at Napoli and is currently on a season-long loan at AC Milan from Juventus.

Sarri, whose side are 1-0 down from the first leg, could well decide against selecting Higuain for Thursday’s return leg at Stamford Bridge even if he is available. But picking him will not be an option in any case if the deal is not finalised by the deadline.

Higuain, 31, was left out of Milan’s squad for their match against Genoa on Monday as Chelsea looked to finalise a loan deal for the Argentina international.

Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso has suggested that Chelsea’s interest has turned the player’s head.

Speaking at a press conference, Guttuso said: “I want to be honest with you all. We had a poor training session today due to all these rumours. We spoke after the training session and I did not consider him ready for this game.

“I accept his decision. Surely he could have done more and maybe we could have helped him fit in better.

“Right now we have to work with professionalism and determination, all these rumours have not helped us lately and we have to look ahead.”