Higuain told Mertens: 'I am joining Chelsea' before AC Milan move
The club from Turin sold the Argentine professional footballer because they had signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. This forced the Old Lady to allow Gonzalo Higuain leave Juvenus and was on the radar of a few other clubs in the summer transfer window.
This included one from the English Premier League club, Chelsea and they had hired a new manager Maurizio Sarri, who was the former coach of Gonzalo Higuain. Maurizio Sarri wanted to reunite with his former striker at his new club, as reported by the Corriere del Mezzogiorno.
​Gonzalo Higuain had also sent a text to his former teammate Mertens saying that he is going to join Chelsea. This text: "I leave Juventus, maybe I go to Sarri.” But he ended up at AC Milan.