ROME • Juventus are set to smash Italy's transfer record by snatching Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli after triggering his release clause of €94.7 million (S$141.1 million), the Italian media said yesterday.

All that remains is the Argentinian poacher's signature, which is regarded as a formality.

"It's all true. Gonzalo Higuain will live in Turin," declared the Turin daily La Stampa, considered the voice of the Agnelli family who run Juventus.

He will be "the lethal weapon" that the Italian football champions have been crying out for, it added, calling the move the "coup of the summer".

Higuain, 28, who has been linked with a number of top clubs around Europe, is expected to sign for four years with a salary of €7.5 million a year.

The transfer - the most expensive in the history of Italian football - is a warning of intent from Juve, who could recoup more than that with the possible sale of midfielder Paul Pogba to Manchester United .

That transfer saga is likely to be concluded this week.

Despite helping Napoli to second place behind Juve last season, Higuain is reportedly keen to move to Turin because of the club's raised profile among Europe's elite after several years on the sidelines.

He joined Napoli for €40 million from Real Madrid in 2013 and has gone on to become one of the most exciting and most consistent strikers in Italy's top flight. He hit a stunning 36 goals last season.

At Juventus, who are also known as the Old Lady, Higuain would join compatriot Paulo Dybala, who finished as the Serie A's second-highest scorer last season on 19.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE