Sam Allardyce insists Gonzalo Higuain is 'a big risk' for Chelsea

The England national team's ex-manager compares the signing of the 31-year-old forward to the Hernan Crespo transfer: "The scary thing for me is Higuain, while he’s had a very good career, he’s a big risk. He’s 31 years old!" Chelsea have done it before with Hernan Crespo, they brought him in for big, big money and it didn’t work – this could be the same again."

The Argentinian joined The Blues from Inter for £23.4m in 2003. However, he didn't have a successful career at Stamford Bridge. Crespo netted 12 goals in his debut season for Chelsea but failed to become a regular player. During his career in the blue shirt, the centre-forward had two loan spells: at Inter Milan and AC Milan.

Higuain’s age isn’t too much of a concern for me. He isn’t a a striker who relies a lot on his pace and agility in order to be a good player, so he will probably be playing at a good level for another few years. I can see him staying at Chelsea for a few years tbh.

— Oliver Cliff (@OliCliffCFC) January 22, 2019

Allardyce insists it will be very difficult for Higuain to adapt to the pace of the Premier League because of his age: "He’s 31 years old coming into the Premier League and, with the pace of the league, he won't know what’s hit him." This season the striker has scored only eight goals in 22 games for the Serie A side.

Anyone who says Higuain will struggle with the pace of the prem is deluded, played against Tottenham last season, was easily one of the best players on the pitch. Declining, yes, struggle? No chance. He’s a finisher and is exactly what Chelsea need

— josh smith (@josh_smith97) January 17, 2019

As AC Milan hare reportedly completed the transfer of Krzysztof Piątek, Gonzalo is expected to be announced as a Chelsea player on Wednesday. However, it's still unknown if The Blues manage to register him for the clash with Tottenham in the Carabao Cup.