Chelsea have gone all out and they’ve got their man.
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The reigning Premier League champions have confirmed they’ve agreed to sign Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, with reports stating the fee agreed is $97 million.
This deal is the biggest in club history, and the Blues released the following statement on Wednesday.Chelsea Football Club and Real Madrid have agreed terms for the transfer of Alvaro Morata to Stamford Bridge. The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
Morata, 24, is a Spanish international forward, and helped Real to lift a second successive Champions League last season.
It is believed Morata will arrive in London on Thursday to have a medical and discuss personal terms, with the Spaniard currently on Real Madrid’s preseason tour of the U.S.
For most of the summer it seemed like Morata would end up at Manchester United but the Red Devils plumped for Romelu Lukaku, pipping Chelsea to his signature in a $96.5 million deal. Now the Spanish international striker (who has nine goals in 20 international appearances) is heading to west London.
Morata will link up with his former manager at Juventus, Antonio Conte, as the clinical forward will become Chelsea’s main striker with Diego Costa now expected to leave Stamford Bridge for Atletico Madrid as his feud with Conte has reached the end game.
27% – Alvaro Morata had the highest conversion rate of any striker to score 10+ goals in La Liga 16-17; scoring 15 goals from 55 shots. Ace. pic.twitter.com/7Vt8rQNF44
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 19, 2017
Back to Morata, this is a massive moment for Conte and Chelsea in taking the next step in their progression to challenge on the European stage. The Italian coach signed a new and improved two-year deal on Tuesday and this signing must have been a big part in him agreeing to stay on and try to improve on his title-winning campaign in his debut season in England last year.
Last season Morata spent plenty of time behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema at Real Madrid, but still scored 20 goals as he returned to the Santiago Bernabeu following two fruitful years at Juventus.
Conte had taken Morata to Turin in 2014 and the predatory forward excelled in Serie A, scoring 27 goals in 93 games in all competitions. Overall he has netted 25 goals in 63 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid over the years with most of his appearances coming off the bench.
With Conte telling Chelsea’s leading goalscorer from last season, Costa, that he was no longer needed, the Blues badly needed someone to replace his goals and now they have their man after an exhaustive search which also saw them linked with Sergio Aguero, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Andrea Belotti.
Both Costa and Nemanja Matic are likely to leave Chelsea this summer, but all of a sudden the reigning champs are looking strong with a new spine following the addition of Tiemoue Bakayoko in midfield, Antonio Rudiger in defense and Morata’s impending arrival up top.
Chelsea’s fans will be licking their chops at the prospect of Morata swiveling to head or volley home a cross from Pedro, Eden Hazard and/or Willian this season and beyond.
He has proven himself at two of Europe’s biggest clubs and now Morata is ready to lead Chelsea’s charge.
