Higuain wants to stay at Real

Posted Monday, January 02, 2012 by irishtimes.com

THE FATHER and agent of Gonzalo Higuain insists the Real Madrid striker has no intention of leaving the Bernabeu despite speculation linking him with Chelsea and Juventus.

The Argentina international is contracted in Madrid until June 2016 but recent reports suggested he could be on the move in January. However, the 24-year-old’s agent, Jorge Higuain, has dismissed talk of him leaving the Primera Liga giants.

“Nobody at Real Madrid has said anything about wanting to sell Gonzalo and he doesn’t have any intention of leaving,” Higuain senior told La Stampa.

“In fact, he wants to continue with Real Madrid until his contract expires in June 2016. If somebody told us we weren’t welcome (at Real) I’m sure we would receive very good proposals.”

Meanwhile, Bolton manager Owen Coyle says Gary Cahill may not have played his last game for the club, despite the Trotters having agreed a fee with Chelsea. Cahill captained the side in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wolves, and Coyle said the England defender would remain focused while negotiations continued.

There had been one meeting between Cahill’s agent and Chelsea, he added. Bolton go to Everton on Wednesday.

“Time will tell whether talks come to fruition,” Coyle said. “A lot has been reported and written that is inaccurate.”

Coyle, who said Chelsea were the only club to have enquired about the 26-year-old, said: “We have said there was a fee agreed between both clubs and we allowed Gary’s representatives to speak to Chelsea, and they have only had one meeting.

“This has not been a week of negotiations. They are apart, and if you and I entered negotiations we’re not going to agree straight away are we? If there is another round of talks, which I would expect, then that might come to fruition. If not, then Gary will remain a Bolton player and play to the form he did (on Saturday).”

The deal to take Cahill to the London side, who are short of cover in central defence with Brazilian Alex out of favour after handing in a transfer request, is thought to be worth £7 million (€8.4 million).

Cahill is out of contract with Bolton at the end of the season and Wanderers intend to reinvest all of the funds from his sale in new players.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is confident a deal can be struck, despite confirming on Friday that club and player are “miles apart” over personal terms.