Chelsea’s €60m Higuain bid rejected

Chelsea have had a £50 million bid for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuaín rejected as Jose Mourinho tries to add some much-needed firepower to his attack.

Napoli have not given any encouragement to Chelsea in their efforts to land Higuaín and insist the Argentine, who played under Mourinho at Real Madrid, is not for sale.

Higuaín has scored nine goals in 16 league games since moving from Spain to Italy in the summer.

That may not deter Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who agrees the lack of goals from strikers is the major weakness in the side.

He is willing to back Mourinho in the transfer market, even though the club posted losses of almost £50 million last season.

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Benitez 'proud' despite Champions League exit

Rafa Benitez insists he remains proud of his players, even though they failed to advance into the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The Partenopei defeated Arsenal 2-0 in their final Group F fixture but despite finishing level on points with both Borussia Dortmund and the Gunners, they became the first team in the history of the tournament to bow out having amassed 12 points.

Consequently, Benitez says his side have no reason to feel ashamed of their early elimination from Europe's premier club cup competition.

"We picked up 12 points, beat Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund but still didn't qualify," the 53-year-old told Sky Sports.

"But everyone should be proud of these guys, we have put in a tremendous effort.

"Today we have seen on the pitch that there is a project going on here, and this team is growing."

The Spaniard also said he would be keen to see some new faces arrive during the January transfer window.

"We want to strengthen over time, so we will be looking at players of a particular age and ability that fit in with what we are trying to create," the former Liverpool boss explained.

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Wenger: Signing Ozil made up for missing out on Higuain

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that the signing of Mesut Ozil has more than made up for the disappointment of missing out on Gonzalo Higuain.

The Frenchman spent the early part of the summer attempting to secure the services of 'El Pipita', who has scored 10 goals in 18 appearances for new club Napoli, but, after failing to meet Real Madrid's valuation of the Argentina international, eventually lured Ozil away from the Santiago Bernabeu instead.

The former Blancos team-mates will face-off on Wednesday in Italy, with both sides looking to progress to the last 16 at the expense of the other but, whatever the outcome, Wenger is adamant that he has no regrets over missing out on Higuain.

"Am I happy with the player I got in Ozil? Very much," he told reporters. "There were a lot of statements that were not true about Higuain.

"He has joined [Rafa] Benitez. He is in good hands and shows he is a great striker [but] we have Olivier Giroud who shows as well that he is a great striker."

Despite recording four victories from their five games, Arsenal still have work to do in order to ensure qualification.

However, the Premier League leaders need only to avoid defeat by a three-goal margin to progress and a point would ensure top spot in a group that also includes last year's runners-up, Borussia Dortmund.

Wenger added: "Our priorities are simple: First, qualify, if possible top [of the group]. For me, the first priority is to qualify. If we finish top, it is even better."

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Higuain: I want to make history at Napoli

Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain is aiming to “make history” with his new club following his good form since his big-money move from Real Madrid in July.

The Argentine striker was signed for a fee of €37 million to replace Paris Saint-Germain-bound Edinson Cavani and has hit the ground running at San Paolo, with eight goals in his first 14 games for the club.

And with Napoli only four points off Serie A leaders Roma in third and in contention to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League, Higuain believes that the time has come to get the Partenopei back to the top of the football landscape.

“I’m here to win and make history for the club,” he said at a press conference. “We are not yet top, but I’m sure that we will get there soon. I’ve come to Naples for the project.”

The 25-year-old also took time to praise coach Rafa Benitez and the Napoli fans, who he felt gave him the motivation to challenge for honours.

“The coach gives me confidence and I find it good to play on this team,” he continued.

“It’s [also] great to play for the fans, who live football. I’m very happy, and I have to think about doing as well as I did before to make our fans happy.”

Napoli host Parma on Saturday in the league, before traveling to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, where a point could see them qualify for the round of 16.

While Higuain understands that both games are crucial to the club’s push for silverware, he maintains his belief that he should take each fixture one game at a time.

“We think about Parma first, where we have to win to stay [in contention] for first place, then we will focus on the challenge of Dortmund, which is very important.

"It is true that the championship is long, but we need to win so that we go to Dortmund with hope.”

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TOP 20 SUMMER TRANSFERS

20 - Isco (Malaga - Real Madrid €30m)

19 - David Villa (Barcelona - Atletico Madrid €5.1m)

18 - Carlos Tevez (Manchester City - Juventus €14m)

17 -   Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich - Fiorentina €15.5m)

16 -  Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid - Arsenal €50m)

15 -  Paulinho (Corinthians - Tottenham €20.6m)

14 - Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid - Monaco €60m)

13 - Juan Quintero (Atletico Nacional - Porto €5m)

12 - Neymar (Santos - Barcelona €57m)

11 - Willian (Anzhi Makhachkala - Chelsea €35.2m)

10 -  Roberto Soldado (Valencia - Tottenham €30.6m)

9 - Jesus Navas (Sevilla - Manchester City €17.6m)

8 - Kevin Strootman (PSV - Roma €17m)

7 - Edinson Cavani (Napoli - Paris Saint-Germain €64m)

6 - Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund - Bayern Munich €37m)

5 - Erik Lamela (Roma - Tottenham €30m)

4 - Eric Abidal (Barcelona - Monaco free transfer)

3 - Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Shakhtar - Dortmund €27.5m)

2 - Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid - Napoli €40.6m)

1 - Gareth Bale (Tottenham - Real Madrid €100m)

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