Chelsea are close to signing Higuain on loan from Juventus with the player primed to cut his loan spell at AC Milan short.
The Argentina international will arrive expected to provide the goals and guile that Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata have both failed to produce.
Chelsea believe Higuain is the right man to lead the attack, with the 31-year-old primed to reunite with Maurizio Sarri, who coaxed the best from him at Napoli.
However, the Telegraph claim the west London giants stopped Antonio Conte from signing Higuain nearly three years ago.
Conte replaced Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2016.
The Italian felt a striker was needed, despite having Diego Costa and Loic Remy on the books.
He reportedly pitched Higuain’s name to Stamford Bridge chiefs.
However, despite the forward being 28 at the time, Chelsea thought he was not worth the risk.
The Telegraph say they told Conte that he was too old and too expensive.
Higuain then quit Napoli for Juventus in a blockbuster £75.3million transfer deal.
But, fast-forward nearly three years, and Higuain to Chelsea is poised to happen.
The Blues are hopeful he will sign in time to play in their Carabao Cup showdown with Tottenham on Thursday.
However, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is unsure if Higuain will flourish at Chelsea.
“I’m not sure on him,” Merson said.
“He was a great player but looks below his best of late. He hasn’t pulled up trees for a while and now he’s coming to the hardest league in the world.
“He won’t have any time to adapt either as he needs to hit the ground running as Chelsea need someone to play as their focal point.
“I’d rather someone that has played in the Premier League before and knows what this league demands.”