Gonzalo Higuain hit the headlines in a major way when he was transferred from Napoli to Juventus for a huge fee of 90m euros. This made the 29-year-old not only the most expensive South American in football, but also set the record for the highest fee spent on a player in the Italian league.
Despite a huge amount of money going Napoli's way, many fans of the clubwere disappointed to lose their star man, a prolific goalscorer who during his three years at the club managed to bag 91 goals in 146 games.
The Argentinian has proven his worth this season by continuing to show his natural talent for goal getting, his 19 league goals in 25 games so far has put him at the top of the goal scoring list for Seria A, tied with Roma's Edin Dzeko.
This all being said, Chievo manager Rolando Maran thinks the club are better off without Higuain. In a recent press conference, viaFootball Italia, the 53-year-old said that it has added a certain mystique to the way Napoli play.
He said:"Higuain has left, but Napoli have become more unpredictable with their current attacking trio.
I think they do play the most entertaining football in Italy and it's a real pleasure to watch them. They have players who suit Maurizio Sarri's ideas and built a perfect squad for their coach."
Higuain leaving the club has also allowed other players to step into the limelight and try to fill the shoes of such a word-class player. Dries Mertens, who in previous seasons was playing predominantly as a winger, has moved into a more senior attacking role, being positioned as more of a deep lying number nine.
Napoli have scored more goals this season without Higuain (45) then last year with him (41) pic.twitter.com/Tk6LDmbxWr
According to the Chievo manager, Napoli were over-reliant on Higuain and without him have much more versatility in terms of tactical options.
He added:They have more options to choose from and vary tactical situations during a game. Napoli can cause any team problems."
#Napoli has 3 points less (38) than they did at the winter break last year (41).
ïš« Without Higuain
ïš« Without Milik
� Playing in the CL
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