Chelsea boss Andre Villa-Boas WILL bid for Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain in January. El Confidencial says Villas-Boas attempted to sign the Argentine last summer and he has become a priority target for the Blues manager.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is reluctant to part with Higuain, however Blues owner Roman Abramovich is determined to bring the striker to London and prepared to go as high as €45 million to convince Florentino to sell.

Higuain can also expect a bumper pay-hike, with Abramovich prepared to give him a base salary of €6 million - plus bonuses.