Juventus meet Gonzalo Higuain’s £78m buyout clause

Arsenal have reportedly suffered a major blow in their pursuit of signing Gonzalo Higuain after Juventus met the £78m release clause written into the Napoli striker’s contract.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who has so far added just Granit Xhaka to his ranks this summer after missing out on Jamie Vardy, is thought to have made the Argentina international his top target in an attempt to strengthen his strike force.

It was claimed last week that Napoli would only let their star asset depart if his hefty buyout clause was metand, according to Gazzetta World, Juventus may have done exactly that.

Higuain is understood to have been offered a four-year deal with the Italian champions, which is likely to be financed by the expected departure of Paul Pogba to Manchester United in a record £100m move.

Arsenal may table a similar bid of their own, however, using Olivier Giroud as leverage to land a striker who scored 36 goals for Napoli last season in a stellar personal campaign.