We've said it from day one about Juventus' €90m record signing Gonzalo Higuaín: He's no Charlie Austin.
The 28-year-old Argentine proved this further last night, as he netted a second half winner against his former club Napoli, for whom Higuaín had become a near-Maradona-status mythical figure before his controversial move to Turin. 91 goals in three seasons - including 36 in the league alone last year - weren't enough for Gli Azzurri, and the outrage following Higuaín's record-smashing departure for perennial Serie A champions Juve must have nearly spilled Mount Vesuvius over the edge.
In the week leading up to Napoli's visit to the league leaders, mayor of Naples Luigi De Magistris told Italy's Radio 2 that the French-born Argentina striker "would have to walk with a metal detector surrounded by 1000 men" were he ever to return to his former place of residence - a comparison with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi who, like Higuaín, is not the most popular man in De Magistris' city.
In fact, De Magistris suggested a meeting, in which the city could discuss optimising its police presence on the occasion that Higuaín does rock back into Naples with his new club.
Higuaín, for his part, responded with the following on Saturday night:
Now, while he can barely contain his smirk as he performs a hardly subtle, dreaded 'muted celebration' as if it will somehow appease his formerly adoring fans, a large contingent in this office - at least three people on this Bank Holiday Sunday - wishes he just went berserk and burned all bridges back to Napoli forever.
He moved to Juventus to be in with a shout of winning titles, both the Champions League and Serie A, at a crucial juncture in his career. These were feats he deemed impossible while at Napoli, having finished third, third and second - by a distance - in his three seasons at the club. Three seasons, by the way! This wasn't Paul Scholes joining Liverpool by any means.
And for the mayor of a city to be making almost Trumpian declarations about his potential safety - IN THAT CITY - should he ever return... It just seems a bit much, even in the likelihood that the comments were made in jest.
A proper celebration would have gone down in Serie A folklore, like the good old days in Italy, but Higuaín himself obviously enjoyed his time at Napoli and didn't wish to exacerbate any ill-feeling towards him from the fans, which is fair enough. He's a better man than we are. But boy how he must have enjoyed putting Juventus five points clear at the top of Serie A last night.
