'If he stays we can do very well' - Sarri wants Higuain to sign permanently

Maurizio Sarri has called on the Chelsea hierarchy to make Gonzalo Higuain’s loan move from Juventus permanent in order to improve the team.

Sarri now wants Chelsea to acquire Higuain on a permanent basis as he believes doing so will improve the side and help them challenge for more trophies.

The Italian manager’s own future in west London is uncertain, but he wants to ensure that Higuain remains at Stamford Bridge for the good of the club.

"I don't know about Gonzalo Higuain's future, you have to ask the club," the 60-year-old said speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day. "If he's staying then we can do very well in the next season."

The 31-year-old, who was on loan at AC Milan in the first half of the season, was purchased by Juventus in the summer of 2016 from Napoli where he played and thrived under Sarri, scoring 36 Serie A goals in the 2015-16 season.

Chelsea have the option to sign the striker for £32 million ($42m) or extend his loan for a further year at the cost of £16m ($21m). The club, though, are waiting to see if their transfer ban imposed by FIFA will be lifted.

Regardless, Sarri has been impressed with how Higuain, who admitted last month that it was his intention to stay at Stamford Bridge, has adapted to the Premier League, even if the former Real Madrid man hasn’t scored as many goals as some observers would have predicted.

“For a striker, it is not easy to play here, when you're used to playing in Spain and Italy,” Sarri added. “It's not easy to adapt to this competition because it's different physically.”