Gonzalo Higuain is the subject of a potential move from AC Milan to Chelsea as the Blues look for a striker that would ease their goalscoring problems. And the Argentine started on the bench for Gattuso’s side which fell by a lone Cristiano Ronaldo goal which was scored just after the hour mark. Higuain starting on the bench sparked more rumours that a deal to join Chelsea is imminent now, but Gattuso moved to clear the air.

According to the boss, Gattuso insists Gonzalo Higuain started AC Milan’s Supercoppa Italiana defeat to Juventus on the bench due to a fever, as speculation on the striker’s future continues to mount. Those rumours were exacerbated when he did not partake in a team photo with Saudi prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal ahead of the Supercoppa contest in Jeddah, which Juve won 1-0 thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 61st minute header.

Higuain did come off the bench with 20 minutes to go but was unable to prevent defeat. “He’s unlucky at the moment. He had a fever last night,” Gattuso told Rai Sport. “We did everything to get him better, but he didn’t play much, so I preferred a fresher player. It might seem like a joke, but honestly, it’s true. Higuain wasn’t in the picture when the Saudi Prince came to visit because I was afraid the virus would spread among the other players, so that was my decision.”

Pressed on the issue, Gattuso added: “I’ve got a burning inside me, we have 25 players, so let’s not talk about this now. We lick our wounds and will see what happens tomorrow.”

Do you think Gattuso is going to keep Higuain or will he watch the striker sign for Chelsea soon?