Having now officially missed out on bringing Romelu Lukaku back to his former club, Chelsea are now turning their pursuit toward Real Madrid man Alvaro Morata. They’re not just going after Morata, it’s an all guns blazing kind of targeting as the Blues will have striker needs to fill.
Manager Antonio Conte famously told Diego Costa by text message in May that the striker is no longer part of his plans this season. It was an ill-advised move for both him and his club, as now all the would be buyers for Costa know that Stamford Bridge absolutely must move him no matter what, and that drives the price way down.
Costa is reportedly inching closer to his Atletico Madrid return, but given the transfer ban at the La Liga club, it’s a complicated situation. One thing’s for sure, he won’t be playing in a blue Chelsea shirt this season. Antonio Conte made certain of that today, as he excused Costa from training on the very first day that players were due to report.
Other teams potentially selling strikers to Chelsea can now drive the price way up on the club just like Atletico can drive Costa’s price down. The Daily Mirror says Chelsea are going to bid £62 million for Alvaro Morata while a link from the Daily Star, referencing a Sky Sports journalist, says Real will demand £80m.
That’s a pretty big spread, and given the weakened position that Stamford Bridge is negotiating from, it could take a while to see an agreement reached, if one even is.
Chelsea have been targeting Morata for some time, and he’s a player that was heavily coveted by Manchester United until they struck a deal for Lukaku.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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