To force Atletico Madrid’s hand, Chelsea has made the threat of recalling Spanish striker Alvaro Morata from his loan spell. The London club wants Atletico to make the Morata deal a permanent one by paying a £50 million transfer fee.
The 26-year-old Spanish striker joined Chelsea a year and a half ago amongst much fanfare and with a huge price tag of £60 million on his head.
Morata wishes to remain at Atletico Madrid
Morata did enjoy an excellent start to his life at the London club, but his form soon dissipated and he failed to live up to the tactical demands of his boss, Antonio Conte. The arrival of a new manager in Maurizio Sarri did not help Morata’s form either.
https://twitter.com/TheBlues___/status/1145113255112847360
Morata himself admits that he had a poor time at Chelsea, even acknowledging that he sometimes had to train alone.
🇪🇸 Does Alvaro Morata deserve a second chance at Chelsea? #CFC 🔵 pic.twitter.com/9tPmfF3wu1
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) June 29, 2019
It was a move to his former city rivals Atletico Madrid that revitalized the forward’s career. Since joining Diego Simeone’s attack this winter, he has performed well and scored six goals in the second half of the season.
According to reports, Morata is desperate to stay at Chelsea. But Chelsea themselves want Morata off their books permanently and may choose to cancel his 18-month loan agreement if Atletico fails to pay £50 million to make his transfer permanent.
A rebuild undergo at the Metropolitano
Atletico, meanwhile, have some of their own transfer dealings to sort out. Starman Antoine Griezmann is leaving, and Atletico has £110 million teenage sensation Joao Felix lined up as a replacement.
The back four also requires some fixing. Longtime defensive stalwarts like Diego Godin and Juanfran are leaving, meaning that Simeone has a tough defensive rebuild to preside over.
Midfielder Rodri is also expected to depart the club, with Manchester City ready to pay his €70 million release clause.
But the club has already identified and signed a replacement in Marcus Llorente, whose official announcement as an Atletico Madrid player is still awaited.