Chelsea manager defends Gonzalo Higuain after unimpressive start

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has leaped into the defence of Gonzalo Higuain amid his struggles during the opening two matches for the club. The Argentine joined the Blues on a temporary deal from Juventus during the backend of the January transfer window and he has since started against Sheffield Wednesday and Bournemouth without any success.

As such, a section of the Blues faithful have already questioned the signing of the Argentine but Sarri, who has previously managed the striker at Napoli, has urged for patience with the marksman, he said: “He is still not at top fitness and it shows, coming back from injury last month and the market meant he did not train well. He has to find his best condition.”

The Blues have had a genuine weakness in the striking department this term with neither Alvaro Morata nor Olivier Giroud sufficiently impressing during the first half of the campaign. Due to this, the west London giants were recommended by Sarri personally to recruit Higuain but so far, the move has not borne fruit with the 31-year-old yet to adjust to the demands of English football.

Still, the Italian tactician remains confident that the striker can find his scoring boots and he has the perfect chance to do when a struggling Huddersfield Town make the west London trip this weekend. The Terriers are winless since beating Wolverhampton Wanderers during the month of November and they are widely fancied to succumb another defeat with the Blues expected to provide a strong response after the midweek embarrassment at Bournemouth.

The Capital outfit suffered a shock and unexpected 4-0 loss at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night and the outcome has dropped them from the fourth position on the table on the goals scored to Arsenal. The margin of defeat was the Blues’ worst of the Premier League era.