China-based agent Andrea Pretti has revealed Hebei China Fortune almost signed Gonzalo Higuain before he joined Juventus in 2016.

Pretti has worked alongside former Roma midfielder Damiano Tommasi in recent years to help establish a network between Europe and China.

The Italian has revealed to TribalFootball that he was involved in a prospective deal that would have seen Higuain become another high-profile addition to the Chinese Super League.

The Argentine was coming off the back of a record breaking season with Napoli, in which he scored 36 league goals, when Hebei's interest was registered.

With the sale of Paul Pogba to Manchester United that summer, Juve were able to fund an enormous €90 million bid for the former River Plate man.

Higuain spent two seasons in Turin, scoring 55 goals in 100 appearances, before joining AC Milan on loan for the first half of the current campaign. He moved to Chelsea in January on another temporary deal.

However, things could have turned out differently had Pretti and Hebei been successful in negotiations.

He told TribalFootball.com: "I can only speak about things that I have personally verified, because of many miraculous operations it has often been spoken without any concrete prerequisite.

"In this logic I remember when Higuain ended up at Juventus, just as Hebei was about to bring the decisive assault on the Argentine bomber."

And Pretti says anyone doubting the Chinese Premier League's spending power will soon be in for a rude surprise.

"For the immediate and immediate future, we can expect everything. In China there is certainly the economic potential to reach any goal."